Winter is here again, and many friends in the north have begun to wear down jackets when going out. At the same time, many new energy car owners have begun to feel "range anxiety". Why do new energy vehicles with a nominal range of 500 kilometers run out of battery after only 350 kilometers? Is this caused by the cold winter, or is it a "false standard" by the manufacturer? Will future pure electric new energy vehicles be able to run to the full nominal cruising range, or will there be any anxiety about battery life?

As a "car person" who has been in the automotive industry for 20 years, today I would like to talk to you about these things about range anxiety.

How is the nominal cruising range measured?

Before discussing the problem, we must first understand what the "nominal" cruising range standard means.

At present, the nominal cruising range of our Chinese automobile industry generally refers to the CLTC (China Light - Duty Vehicles Test Cycle) cruising range, which is also the cruising range that domestic new energy vehicles must use and label. This set of standards is based on real driving data of more than 5,000 vehicles in 41 cities in China and is designed to be closer to China's actual road conditions, such as frequent traffic lights, congested urban traffic, etc. The cruising range of electric vehicles can be summarized by the following formula:

What this formula means is that the cruising range of an electric vehicle (L, unit: kilometers) is directly proportional to the battery capacity (C, unit: kilowatt-hour) and inversely proportional to the average power consumption (E, unit: kilowatt-hour/km).

In other words, the larger the battery capacity, the more power the car uses and the farther it can run. The battery capacity is easy to determine, but the power consumption of the car is related to many factors.

In order to obtain comparable results, the CLTC test was conducted on a chassis dynamometer in the laboratory. During the test, all non-essential on-board appliances (air conditioning, seat heating, power amplifiers, etc.) must be turned off, and the temperature during the test is set within the 20-30°C range, just like we are running on a treadmill in the gym.

At the same time, during the CLTC test, the proportion of idling, low speed (less than 40km/h) and medium speed (40-80km/h) in the test was relatively high. The maximum speed of the test was 114km/h, and the high-speed cruising phase was relatively short. The average vehicle speed of the entire test was only 28.5km/h. At the same time, the test will simulate the frequent acceleration and deceleration of stop-and-go in the city. The advantage of this test method is that the tested vehicle runs in a relatively "comfortable" range, which can ensure that the test variables are relatively single, but the test results are also relatively "ideal."

From the previous experimental process, we can see that the nominal cruising range experimental conditions are relatively rigorous and simulate the actual situation as much as possible. It has certain reference significance and can be used to visually compare the cruising capabilities of different models. However, for the same car, once it leaves the laboratory, it is difficult to achieve the nominal cruising range. Why is this?

The gap between ideal and reality is a bit big

It turns out that the test results obtained in the "idealized" laboratory are greatly different from our real car environment, which leads to "the ideal is full, but the reality is skinny" - in addition to the attenuation of battery power caused by normal use of charge and discharge cycles, there are many factors that will lead to a decrease in cruising range:

1. Ambient temperature: Low temperature is the number one reason for owners of pure electric vehicles to be anxious about their range. In low temperature environments, the electrochemical reaction rate and ion migration efficiency inside lithium batteries, especially lithium iron phosphate batteries, will be significantly reduced. The essence of charging and discharging of lithium batteries is: lithium ions (Li?) "shuttle" through the electrolyte between the positive and negative electrodes, while electrons form current through the external circuit. Low temperature will set up triple obstacles to this "shuttle + reaction" process, which is reflected in the fact that when we use it, we feel that "the power is not enough".

At the same time, in low-temperature environments, we instinctively turn on the air conditioner for heating to maintain a comfortable and warm environment in the cockpit. If your car is equipped with a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient, positive temperature coefficient thermistor) heating air conditioner, its power may be as high as several thousand watts. The author once had a car with a nominal cruising range of 270km. A joint venture brand new energy vehicle, when driving in winter, as long as the air conditioner is turned on, the remaining cruising range displayed on the driving computer will be cut in half, making the author's cruising range anxiety instantly rise.

2. Congested urban road conditions: Congestion is commonplace on many urban roads. Frequent starts and stops and continuous operation of air conditioners during congestion will cause the energy consumption per unit distance of the vehicle to increase. At the same time, frequent acceleration and braking will also increase energy consumption. Energy consumption will increase at the moment of acceleration, and excessive braking will waste a lot of kinetic energy that could be converted into electrical energy through the kinetic energy recovery system.

3. Wind resistance during high-speed driving: Most owners of pure electric new energy vehicles are unwilling to drive at high speeds. This is because the main energy consumption of vehicle driving is to overcome wind resistance, and wind resistance is proportional to the square of the speed. When the vehicle speed increases from 80km/h to 120km/h, wind resistance will increase exponentially, leading to a sharp increase in energy consumption. For the same driving mileage, the cruising range of urban roads and highways will be much different and can even reach more than 100 kilometers.

4. Various "electric tigers": One of the main selling points of new energy vehicles now is "intelligence". The computer modules, large refrigerators, large color TVs and other equipment on the car seem to consume a lot of power. Even the "big sofa" you sit on has seat massage and seat ventilation and heating modules. The power used by these devices requires batteries to provide. When you turn them on, your cruising range will be consumed unknowingly.

Not enough mileage and skills

Some friends will ask: "Is it possible for us to drive pure electric new energy vehicles to achieve the nominal cruising range?" In fact, it is not impossible. Even if the same car is a traditional fuel vehicle, different driving environments and different usage habits will lead to differences in energy consumption.

For example, for a 1.3T displacement fuel vehicle, when the author drives it, the fuel consumption is generally 5-6L/100km, while when my family drives it, it is basically 7-8L/100km. This is the difference brought about by driving habits, and new energy vehicles can also "save energy and extend range" by optimizing driving habits.

Some of the following driving habits may be helpful to you:

1. Change driving habits: Reduce slamming on the accelerator and brake pedal during daily driving, avoid sudden acceleration and braking, try to maintain a constant speed, reduce debris on the car, and reduce the additional burden on the vehicle.

2. Adapt to the kinetic energy recovery system: Improve the vehicle's kinetic energy recovery level and keep it in the gear where you are most comfortable driving. While maintaining safety, get used to letting the kinetic energy recovery system intervene to slow down by releasing the accelerator to reduce energy waste.

3. Reasonably control vehicle speed: On the premise of complying with traffic laws and maintaining smooth driving on the road, appropriately reduce vehicle speed to reduce energy consumption caused by wind resistance.

4. Use "smart driving" equipment to improve battery utilization: Many new energy vehicles will be equipped with advanced battery thermal management systems, which use liquid cooling, heating film, heat pump and other technologies to make the battery work in the optimal temperature range in any external environment. This not only protects battery health, but also reduces our range anxiety when traveling in winter.

For example, we can remotely control the vehicle through the APP, turn on the battery preheating function before traveling, and raise the battery temperature to the optimal working range, which can greatly improve the vehicle's charging and discharging performance at low temperatures and reduce the degradation of cruising range caused by low temperatures.

Through these reasonable controls, the driving mileage of new energy vehicles can indeed be increased and approach the nominal mileage.

Technology iteration and promising future

So, how will new energy vehicles develop in the future? Can car owners completely get rid of battery life anxiety? When new energy vehicles first appeared, I had reservations about them. However, in recent years, with the application of some new technologies, I have increasingly felt that pure electric new energy vehicles may undergo radical changes in recent years, and range anxiety is likely to disappear completely in the near future.

Let’s take a look at the new technologies that may change the future:

1. Application of new high-energy battery technologies such as solid-state batteries: Solid-state batteries are considered a fundamental innovation in battery technology, and are also regarded by many as the ultimate solution for power batteries.

The electrolyte of solid-state batteries is solid and has higher energy density. When installed on pure electric new energy vehicles, the cruising range is expected to easily exceed 1,000km. At the same time, its fire and explosion resistance is stronger and safer, and its low-temperature performance is also better, which greatly alleviates the problem of vehicle cruising range being affected by ambient temperature.

Moreover, the development of battery technologies such as silicon anode and lithium iron phosphate optimization technology, sodium battery technology, and hydrogen fuel cell technology also allows us to see more possibilities for new energy vehicles in the future.

2. Rapid energy replenishment supporting technology is gradually realized: An important reason for range anxiety is charging the car, especially a full charge, which may take several hours. Now the high-voltage platform and overcharging technology have gradually matured. Now the 800V high-voltage platform of domestic brand new energy vehicles has gradually become popular. It is matched with 4C and 5C overcharging technology to achieve rapid energy replenishment in a short time.

Some new energy brands have been able to replenish a 400km cruising range in about 10 minutes. The gap with the time required to refuel traditional fuel vehicles is already very small. In the future, with the popularity of supercharging stations, the waiting time for refueling of new energy vehicles will be greatly shortened and endurance anxiety will be weakened.

3. Development of intelligent energy management technology: Upgrading the vehicle system from simple monitoring to active optimization, predicting battery health status through AI algorithms, and dynamically adjusting charge and discharge curves. For example, a self-developed system equipped with a newly launched model can sense the ambient temperature adjustment strategy in real time, maintain stable battery life performance in an extremely cold environment of -25°C, and extend battery life.

The nominal cruising range is 500 kilometers, but it can only run 350 kilometers when driven by oneself. This is not to deceive consumers, but is "a standard ruler for horizontal comparison under ideal circumstances." Although it has certain limitations, it is also a reference standard by which we can relatively fairly measure the performance of different models.

And as the technology gradually matures, our range anxiety should be cured in the near future!