Data from thousands of EVs shows the average daily driving distance is a small percentage of the EPA range of most EVs.
For years, range anxiety has been a major barrier to wider EV adoption in the U.S. It’s a common fear: imagine being in the middle of nowhere, with 5% juice remaining in your battery, and nowhere to charge. A nightmare nobody ever wants to experience, right? But a new study proves that in the real world, that’s a highly improbable scenario.
After analyzing information from 18,000 EVs across all 50 U.S. states, battery health and data start-up Recurrent found something we sort of knew but took for granted. The average distance Americans cover daily constitutes only a small percentage of what EVs are capable of covering thanks to modern-day battery and powertrain systems.
The study revealed that depending on the state, the average daily driving distance for EVs was between 20 and 45 miles, consuming only 8 to 16% of a battery’s EPA-rated range. Most EVs on sale today in the U.S. offer around 250 miles of range, and many models are capable of covering over 300 miles.
So you’re saying that the people who don’t average longer driving range needs are the ones who bought EVs?
That tracks.
It absolutely doesn’t translate to any useful information for everyone else, though.
Also, average drive length is completely irrelevant for this question. People are not worried about their typical daily trips when evaluating a new car’s range, they’re worried about the occasional longer trip they might have to make and not having to have a separate car or other accommodation for that.
Agreed. Traveling to my boyfriend’s parents’ place is a nightmare in my EV and renting a car for the trip every year is expensive and uncomfortable comparatively. It adds like 6 hours to the trip or an overnight stay in the middle.