A team from Heise and ADAC tested what happens when an electric car’s battery reaches 0%. The result is surprising, as all tested vehicles can still drive, even if not far.
Electric cars consume energy when driving, but what happens when you reach 0%? A team from the Heise publishing house tested this together with ADAC. You can find the entire test as a video on YouTube.
In total, they ran 6 electric cars until empty to find out what happens when you hit 0% in everyday life.
Many electric cars can still drive about 10 kilometers at 0% before they stop
What exactly did the testers do? The editorial team from Heise and ADAC drove a total of 6 electric cars until empty at the ADAC test site in Penzing (west of Munich).
To do this, the drivers first lowered the battery level to 20%, then drove constantly at 100 km/h and documented all further changes. The testers wanted to know how long the vehicles could maintain that speed. Once the vehicle dropped below 50 km/h, the drive ended. The following vehicles were tested by the team:
- BYD SEAL
- Kia EV6
- Nio EL6
- Tesla Model Y
- Volvo EX40
- VW ID.3
What happens at 0%? All six tested vehicles can still drive several kilometers. On average, all can still cover between 10 and 16 kilometers. After that, all vehicles stop. However, how exactly they stop varies significantly by vehicle.
Most vehicles begin to significantly reduce their speed from 0% and become increasingly slower. While 100 km/h is possible at first, speeds drop sharply thereafter. In the end, no vehicle reaches 50 kilometers per hour anymore.
However, the BYD SEAL and the VW ID.3 are special cases:
- The BYD SEAL can drive another 16 kilometers in the test before suddenly switching to neutral (D gear). There is no warning for this, by the way.
- The VW ID.3 significantly throttles its performance after about 10 kilometers and then drives only at walking pace at 5 km/h. There is also no warning here.
What all electric cars have in common: No electric car can be restarted after the test with an empty battery.
Is there a recommendation? Yes, the testers recommend not to wait too long to charge. By no later than 5%, one should look for a charging station, as one must also account for traffic on the road, as well as traffic jams and other delays. In an emergency, a reserve battery can also be carried to charge the car.
A study examined how often drivers change their vehicle and buy a new one: Owners of electric cars switch their model more frequently than people who use a gasoline-powered vehicle. And the duration of use varies considerably: According to a study, electric car drivers buy a new car 4 times more often than those with gasoline vehicles
