Abstract
BackgroundAs electric kick scooters, three-wheelers, and passenger cars enter the streets, efficiency trade-offs across vehicle types gain practical relevance for consumers and policy makers. Here, we compile a comprehensive dataset of 428 electric vehicles, including seven vehicle types and information on certified and real-world energy consumption. Regression analysis is applied to quantify trade-offs between energy consumption and other vehicle attributes.ResultsCertified and real-world energy consumption of electric vehicles increase by 60% and 40%, respectively, with each doubling of vehicle mass, but only by 5% with each doubling of rated motor power. These findings hold roughly also for passenger cars whose energy consumption tends to increase 0.6 ± 0.1 kWh/100 km with each 100 kg of vehicle mass. Battery capacity and vehicle mass are closely related. A 10 kWh increase in battery capacity increases the mass of electric cars by 15 kg, their drive range by 40–50 km, and their energy consumption by 0.7–1.0 kWh/100 km. Mass-produced state-of-the-art electric passenger cars are 2.1 ± 0.8 kWh/100 km more efficient than first-generation vehicles, produced at small scale.ConclusionEfficiency trade-offs in electric vehicles differ from those in conventional cars—the latter showing a strong dependency of fuel consumption on rated engine power. Mass-related efficiency trade-offs in electric vehicles are large and could be tapped by stimulating mode shift from passenger cars to light electric road vehicles. Electric passenger cars still offer potentials for further efficiency improvements. These could be exploited through a dedicated energy label with battery capacity as utility parameter.
Highlights
As electric kick scooters, three-wheelers, and passenger cars enter the streets, efficiency trade-offs across vehicle types gain practical relevance for consumers and policy makers
General aspects This article covers seven major types of electric vehicles: (i) hover-boards and skateboards, (ii) stand-up and kick scooters (Type 1), (iii) e-bikes, including bicycle-like three-wheelers (Type 2), (iv) larger two- and three-wheelers such as mopeds and step-through scooters classified as L1e vehicles, motorcycles classified as L3e and L4e vehicles, and three-wheelers classified as L2e and L5e vehicles (Type 3; [5]), (v) light four-wheelers classified as L6c and L7e vehicles (Type 4; [26]), (vi) passenger cars classified as M1 vehicles (Type 5; [27]), and (vii) light commercial and heavy-duty vehicles classified as N1-3 vehicles (Type 6; [11])
Rated motor power ranges from 0.25 kW for e-bikes to 575 kW for passenger cars; battery capacity ranges from 0.10 kWh for skateboards to 300 kWh for trucks
Summary
Three-wheelers, and passenger cars enter the streets, efficiency trade-offs across vehicle types gain practical relevance for consumers and policy makers. Policy makers support the electrification of road transport for several reasons—to decrease urban air and noise pollution, to mitigate transport-related CO2 emissions, and to secure energy supply for the mobility of citizens [1, 2]). Traction batteries still offer a 50–100 times lower energy density than gasoline [15] and require more space than comparable fuel tanks. They allow for flexible integration into the rolling chassis and their size may decrease once occasional charging—at home, work, or in the public space—becomes feasible
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