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The Australian
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Australian
EV range tests by AAA reveal Tesla, Kia, and Mercedes-Benz battery charge falls short
Electric vehicle brands are falling short of their advertised ranges on a single battery charge, with real world testing of BYD, Tesla, Kia and Smart EV models revealing the performance of a Chinese-manufactured car was 23 per cent below its promoted road distance. The first independent Australian testing of electric vehicle ranges conducted by the nation's peak motoring body found five popular EV models all fell below their advertised on-road performance. Commonwealth-funded EV road tests conducted by the Australian Automobile Association showed the Chinese-made 2023 BYD ATTO3 boasted the largest variation, with a range of 369km recorded on a single charge in real driving conditions compared with its promoted 480km calculated in laboratory tests. Testing data compiled by the AAA, which represents state motoring bodies including RACQ, NRMA, RACV and RAC, showed the popular 2024 Tesla Model 3 performed 14 per cent below its advertised driving range, recording a real-world range of 441km on full charge compared with its lab range of 513km. Two of the country's more popular EVs, the 2024 Tesla Model Y and 2022 Kia EV6, recorded range variations of 8 per cent below their advertised distances on a single battery charge. The Tesla Model Y real-world range was 490km compared with its advertised 533km, while the Kia EV6 travelled 484km compared with its lab range of 528km. The worst performer was the BYD ATTO3, which fell 23 per cent short in real-world tests, managing to cover only 369km instead of the lab range of 480km. The best performer was the 2024 Smart #3 model, which came in at 5 per cent, or 23km, less than its lab tested range of 455km. New AAA polling conducted in late July has also revealed that 60 per cent of Australians say EV range and recharging are their main concerns or hesitations preventing them from choosing an electric vehicle as their next car purchase. Range is often cited as one of the biggest barriers for EV take-up in regional communities where motorists travel greater distances. The lab tests indicated that a BYD ATTO3 being driven from Melbourne to Adelaide would cross the South Australian border, just reaching Wirrega, on a full charge. But the real-world tests found the ATTO3 would run out of charge before getting to the Victorian town of Nhill. Similarly, the Tesla 3 on a trip from Sydney to Melbourne would get to Holbrook and almost Mullengandra on a full charge under the lab tests, but the real-world tests indicated the car would make it to Tarcutta but run out of charge before the Kyeamba turn-off. AAA managing director Michael Bradley said the real-world testing program would help to alleviate range anxiety among potential EV buyers. He said the results gave prospective EV buyers an independent indication of real-world battery range to 'help them understand which cars perform as advertised and which fall short'. 'As more EVs enter our market, our testing will help consumers understand which new market entrants measure up on battery range. Our program will bring confidence to Australian fleets and families looking to buy an EV,' Mr Bradley said. He said the testing program, which began in 2023 and is backed by $14m in federal funding, had shown consumers 'cannot always rely on a carmaker's laboratory tests as an indicator of real-world performance'. Since its inception, the program has released results for 114 internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicles, which showed 77 per cent had exceeded 'the fuel consumption recorded in lab tests, with one in five also exceeding noxious emissions limits applicable to lab tests'. The AAA real-world testing program was launched following the Volkswagen scandal in 2015, which 'demonstrated that regulation of vehicle emissions incentivises carmakers to optimise their vehicles for performance in the laboratory, rather than in the real world'. Cars are tested on a 93km circuit in and around the Victorian city of Geelong and are subjected to 'strict testing protocols based on European regulations to ensure results are repeatable and to minimise the influence of human factors such as driving style and changing traffic flows'. The program measures EV range by 'quantifying both the energy needed to drive a vehicle around the test route and the energy needed to recharge each vehicle's fully depleted battery'. It also 'measures each vehicle's energy consumption, which determines the cost of operating the vehicle, and which carmakers are legally obliged to report at point of sale'. With the transport sector the third-largest source of domestic greenhouse gas emissions, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King last year unveiled the government's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard to help Labor's pursuit of net-zero emissions by 2050. The NVES incentivises car companies to supply new cars that use less fuel per kilometre, with manufacturers set an average carbon dioxide emissions target for the vehicles they produce. In its clean energy and net-zero transformation report released on Sunday, the Productivity Commission called for new incentives to be provided for heavy vehicle users to help drive down emissions. Following the establishment of the NVES, the Productivity Commission also urged federal, state and territory governments to phase out exemptions for EVs from fringe benefits tax and vehicle stamp duty, and move away from electric vehicle registration discounts. In response, the Electric Vehicle Council warned that ending the tax exemptions would 'slam the brakes on passenger EV uptake in Australia'. Politics A $2bn rescue package stands between the survival of Queensland's copper industry and its collapse, as state and federal governments clash over Glencore's future. Politics Jim Chalmers will consider a 'lighter touch' approach for smaller banks to help them compete with the Big Four and create a more dynamic financial market in Australia.


Forbes
28-07-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Test-Driving The Impressively Efficient 2025 Porsche Macan Electric
The entry-level Porsche Macan is a surprisingly efficient electric SUV At last, an electric car that goes as far as it says it will. That's the Porsche Macan in a nutshell. Crucially though, this is the base, entry-level, bottom-of-the-food-chain Porsche Macan. It's the cheapest one. Not the Turbo or the 4S or even the 4. It's simply the Macan Electric. It isn't hugely powerful or particularly quick, but it goes well enough when you put your foot down and, most importantly of all, it goes a very long way. More than that, it reliably goes a long way. Its range indicator is truthful, and it always covers more than three miles per kWh; sometimes even four. To contextualize that one, I borrowed a Genesis GV60 for six months last year and, as lovely as it was, I very rarely saw more than 3.0 miles per kWh. After a week and 500 miles with the Macan, many of them at 70 mph on the motorway, typically where EVs struggle to drive efficiently, it never once fell below 3.0. Most of the time, even after three hours of highway driving, it was returning around 3.5 m/kWh. Multiply that by the capacity of the 95 kWh battery, and you get an approximate real-world range of 332 miles. Porsche estimates 315 miles of range in the US using the EPA test cycle, while here in the UK it states between 333 and 398 miles. Unlike pricier models, the base Porsche Macan has a single motor and is rear-wheel-drive. When you finally have to visit a charger – which I didn't until driving from London to Devon and part-way back – the Macan fills its battery quicker than almost any other EV on the road. Porsche claims a maximum charge rate of 270 kW, but in typical Porsche fashion that figure is conservative. Within seconds of plugging in, my Macan shot up to 274 kW. A top-up from 15 percent (47 miles indicated) to 60 percent (190 miles indicated) took just 15 minutes. This is how electric cars should work. They don't need to distort their driver's face every time he or she presses the accelerator. They should provide a satisfying surge of power and torque at low speed – enough to raise a smile when exiting a junction, overtaking or joining a highway – then settle down and return many, many miles per kilowatt-hour. What else? Performance aside, the base Macan is just like every other model in the range. It looks the same, inside and out, and that means typically smart, sophisticated and thoughtful Porsche design. The interior is a triumph, neatly blending technology and tactility so that the driver can keep their eyes on the road while adjusting key controls, like interior temperature, by feel. It's not a particularly exciting cabin, but it's one that feels smart, premium and reassuringly well-made. The interior features a mix of modern tech and tactile switchgear. There's adjustable ambient lighting (but not too much), a bright, sharp and responsive touchscreen in the middle, an all-digital driver display that can be made to look like a classic Porsche instrument cluster, and a secondary display that gives you physical toggle switches for the climate control. There are even proper, physical buttons on the steering wheel too. No haptic track pads, and it's all the better for it. In a world where some automakers are obsessed with equipping cars with low-quality iPads instead of proper switchgear, at Porsche common sense prevails. I said earlier how this base-level Macan isn't particularly quick. But it still has 360 PS in European-speak (about 355 old-fashioned horsepower), 563 Nm of torque (415 ft-lb) and can sprint to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds. That's about the same as a 996-generation Porsche 911 Carrera. To spend a long, meandering paragraph on how the entry-level Macan handles on a tight and challenging road would be to miss the point. It's fine. More than fine, in fact. It handles surefootedly, steers precisely, rides comfortably and never breaks traction. There's a dial on the steering wheel for changing drive mode, but in reality you'll leave it in the default setting. Sport mode is there if you really want it, and technically the quoted 0-60 time is only achievable with launch control enabled (press both pedals when stationary and release the brake like you've stood on a Lego brick). But in the real world you'll drive about knowing you're in a high-end, German electric SUV. You'll occasionally glance down at the Porsche badge on the steering wheel and smile, then you'll look at the range and efficiency readout, and smile even more. Although not remarkably quick, the entry-level Macan still drives nicely. I'd also like to praise the UK's EV charge network, which in just a few years has grown and matured significantly from the days when chargers were slow and frequently broken. Both top-ups with the Macan were completely painless, with no queue at either station and no faulty chargers either. This seamlessness is aided by Porsche's charge network subscription, which gives drivers access to a wide range of chargers, and its route-planning app, which creates a charging strategy for every long journey. I particularly like how Porsche offers a branded key fob with an integrated RFID chip; tap this on the charger instead of using the charge station's own app, and the top-up will be billed to the credit card on your Porsche account. Tesla has offered such a service for a decade with its Supercharger network, but it's nice to see other manufacturers offering a similar service now too, and in many cases providing access to many more chargers than those installed by Tesla. Porsche isn't alone, of course. Electric cars are quickly becoming ever-more efficient, and charging faster than ever. Public charging is still expensive, especially compared to plugging in at home, and depreciation is still a concern. But the whole infrastructure is finally starting to work as promised – and the Macan, even in entry-level form, is a prime example of an EV done right.


Top Gear
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Here are 15 of the longest-range electric cars you can buy today
Advertisement BMW i7 xDrive60: 387 miles The seventh generation of BMW's range topper launches with electrons, and it's here to bring new meaning to electric luxury limousines. We'll leave you to decide on the looks, though the bigger talking point is arguably the huge 31.3in panoramic television ('theatre') screen that folds out of the roof for rear-seat passengers. Under the skin you get a 105.7kWh battery, 536bhp from two electric motors, and up to 387 miles on a single charge. More than enough to cover the average 23-mile round commute... Click here to read our review... Compare new car deals with Compare used car deals with Advertisement - Page continues below The new Porsche Macan was already our Electric Car of the Year, but it now earns its place on this list courtesy of the introduction of a new single motor rear-wheel drive variant. Weighing 110kg less than its all-wheel drive counterparts it claims some 398 miles from its 100kWh battery, but, being a Porsche, is by no means short of power, still sending 355bhp (with launch control) to the rear wheels. Three other versions are available, the Macan 4 (402bhp/381 miles), Macan 4S (509bhp/376 miles), and Macan Turbo (630bhp/367 miles). Click here to read our review Compare new car deals with Compare used car deals with You might like Polestar 2 Long Range: 408 miles Advertisement - Page continues below Peugeot E-5008: 414 miles Porsche Taycan: 421 miles BMW iX xDrive60: 426 miles Mercedes-Benz EQE 350+: 429 miles Advertisement - Page continues below Peugeot E-3008: 435 miles Volkswagen ID.7: 436 miles Volkswagen's first all-electric saloon rights some (but not all) of the wrongs of the ID range before it, and it'll go further than any of its siblings too. Its impressive range is in part thanks to its slippery design, with its coupe profile helping contribute to a low drag coefficient of just 0.23Cd. It's available in two variants, 'Pro' guise which claims 381 miles from its 77kWh battery, or 'Pro S' guise with a headline figure of 436 miles from its 86kWh battery. What range anxiety? Click here to read our review Compare new car deals with Compare used car deals with Advertisement - Page continues below Tesla Model 3 Long Range: 436 miles Polestar 3 Long Range: 438 miles Polestar shows no sign of slowing down as it continues to grow its product line up. The 3 comes in three states of tune, every version getting a whopping 111kWh battery, with the entry-level single motor version pushing 295bhp and 438 miles of range, the mid-range dual motor version outputting 483bhp and 392 miles of range, and the schporty Performance Pack version 510bhp but a reduced 347 miles of range. Prices start at £69,900, with dual motor cars costing from £75,900, and the Performance Pack an additional £5,600. Click here to read our review Compare new car deals with Compare used car deals with Audi A6 e-tron Sportback Performance: 463 miles In Sportback form and specced with the optional cameras for wing mirrors, the Audi A6 e-tron gets a quite remarkable drag coefficient of just 0.21Cd. If you combine that with the Performance powertrain that uses a 94.9kWh battery and a single motor powering the rear wheels, you end up with a claimed range of 463 miles. The big-booted Avant version isn't quite as slippery through the air, but in the same spec it'll still manage 437 miles on a single charge. Impressive. Click here to read our review Compare new car deals with Compare used car deals with Mercedes-Benz CLA 250+: 484 miles Mercedes EQS 450+ AMG Line: 511 miles Yeah, you could travel the 332 miles from London to Edinburgh by train, but you'd also have to share that train with *gasp* the general public. And no one needs that stress in their life. Instead, why not relax in Mercedes' electric limo, the EQS, which the German manufacturer claims will now manage up to 511 miles post facelift in its most efficient configuration? That's an increase of 51 miles over the pre-facelift EQS, and comes courtesy of its bigger 118kWh battery, up from 108kWh. Who'd bet against it topping this list before too long… Click here to read our review Compare new car deals with Compare used car deals with Lucid Air Grand Touring: 516 miles The current rangetastic king comes from Silicon Valley-based Lucid with its Air electric saloon, which boasts up to 516 miles in its top spec. To get there you'll have to wade through no less than four variants, from the entry-level Pure (473bhp, 410 miles of range), to the Touring (612bhp, 425 miles), and range-topping Sapphire, featuring a three-motor powertrain, 1,184bhp, a 0-60mph time of under two seconds and a top speed of over 200mph. Wowzers. Click here to read our review Electric Top Gear Advice News See more on Electric
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Huawei Patents Solid-State Battery That Would Let You Road Trip From Miami To Maine On A Single Charge
Toyota is currently working on solid-state batteries it says will allow it to build 900-mile EVs, but while many would call that overkill, dads across the country know it isn't enough. We need more range if EVs are ever going to be good enough for a proper road trip, and if Huawei can deliver on its latest solid-state battery patent, we may almost be there. That's because it offers more than 1,800 miles of range on a single charge, CarNewsChina reports. For context, that's enough range to drive from Miami, Florida, to Bangor, Maine, without stopping. That said, China's range estimates are even more generous than Europe's, which means you may only get 1,200 or 1,300 miles out of a battery like that in the United States. Pitiful, I know. At that point, there's basically no reason to even bring your external catheter on a road trip. Not that the U.S. would allow Chinese battery tech to be sold here in the first place or invest in catching up. Our EV tech will stay generations behind China's, and we will like it. From the sound of it, the real value in this patent is the battery's energy density: The patent outlines a solid-state battery architecture with energy densities between 400 and 500 Wh/kg, potentially two to three times that of conventional lithium-ion cells. The filing also details a novel approach to improving electrochemical stability: doping sulfide electrolytes with nitrogen to address side reactions at the lithium interface, a long-standing obstacle to the commercialisation of sulfide-based batteries. Huawei's design aims to boost safety and cycle life by mitigating degradation at this critical junction. Read more: These Supercars Lose Value So Quickly, They're Almost A Steal Allegedly, given a big enough charger, Huawei says it could charge the battery in about five minutes, too. That would require an absolutely absurd amount of power, but it isn't like companies in China aren't working on that, too. BYD has already shown off a Megawatt charger that's capable of adding 250 miles of range in about five minutes. Early versions would also likely cost a small fortune, though, and it's also hard to see how practical Megawatt charging would be in the remote areas where people might actually use it. But while BYD does actually plan to build at least some of those Megawatt chargers, don't be surprised if Huawei's 1,800-mile solid-state battery ends up being more of a tech demonstration than anything else. Instead, it seems much more likely that the batteries that will ultimately make their way into production cars will be smaller and therefore lighter. A battery that's a third the size of the 1,800-mile battery would still offer more than enough range for a road trip while also drastically reducing weight. Considering how heavy EV batteries are — the battery in the Hummer EV weighs nearly 3,000 pounds — if there's one thing EVs need, it's less weight. So while Huawei's 1,800-mile battery is still theoretical for now, it's still cool to see battery tech advancing to the point where, in a few years, we may see long-range EVs that weigh about the same as gas-powered cars. At least in other countries outside the U.S., since Republicans have decided they'd rather just turn us into a technological backwater. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Huawei Patents Solid-State Battery That Would Let You Road Trip From Miami To Maine On A Single Charge
Toyota is currently working on solid-state batteries it says will allow it to build 900-mile EVs, but while many would call that overkill, dads across the country know it isn't enough. We need more range if EVs are ever going to be good enough for a proper road trip, and if Huawei can deliver on its latest solid-state battery patent, we may almost be there. That's because it offers more than 1,800 miles of range on a single charge, CarNewsChina reports. For context, that's enough range to drive from Miami, Florida, to Bangor, Maine, without stopping. That said, China's range estimates are even more generous than Europe's, which means you may only get 1,200 or 1,300 miles out of a battery like that in the United States. Pitiful, I know. At that point, there's basically no reason to even bring your external catheter on a road trip. Not that the U.S. would allow Chinese battery tech to be sold here in the first place or invest in catching up. Our EV tech will stay generations behind China's, and we will like it. From the sound of it, the real value in this patent is the battery's energy density: The patent outlines a solid-state battery architecture with energy densities between 400 and 500 Wh/kg, potentially two to three times that of conventional lithium-ion cells. The filing also details a novel approach to improving electrochemical stability: doping sulfide electrolytes with nitrogen to address side reactions at the lithium interface, a long-standing obstacle to the commercialisation of sulfide-based batteries. Huawei's design aims to boost safety and cycle life by mitigating degradation at this critical junction. Read more: These Supercars Lose Value So Quickly, They're Almost A Steal Allegedly, given a big enough charger, Huawei says it could charge the battery in about five minutes, too. That would require an absolutely absurd amount of power, but it isn't like companies in China aren't working on that, too. BYD has already shown off a Megawatt charger that's capable of adding 250 miles of range in about five minutes. Early versions would also likely cost a small fortune, though, and it's also hard to see how practical Megawatt charging would be in the remote areas where people might actually use it. But while BYD does actually plan to build at least some of those Megawatt chargers, don't be surprised if Huawei's 1,800-mile solid-state battery ends up being more of a tech demonstration than anything else. Instead, it seems much more likely that the batteries that will ultimately make their way into production cars will be smaller and therefore lighter. A battery that's a third the size of the 1,800-mile battery would still offer more than enough range for a road trip while also drastically reducing weight. Considering how heavy EV batteries are — the battery in the Hummer EV weighs nearly 3,000 pounds — if there's one thing EVs need, it's less weight. So while Huawei's 1,800-mile battery is still theoretical for now, it's still cool to see battery tech advancing to the point where, in a few years, we may see long-range EVs that weigh about the same as gas-powered cars. At least in other countries outside the U.S., since Republicans have decided they'd rather just turn us into a technological backwater. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.