Today we will take a look at the weight of electric cars, which usually are much heavier than their conventional counterparts due to the battery packs – the heaviest single part.
The data for dozens of models was provided by Bjørn Nyland, who measures the car’s weight by the way of general reviews. As far as we know, in all cases, the weight includes the driver’s weight. In the video above, we can see an example of such a measure for the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
The heaviest car on the list of almost 70 EVs is the Mercedes-Benz EQV luxury passenger van, which is not far from 3,000 kg. The Audi e-tron 55 SUV is at 2,720 kg, followed by another premium SUV – the Mercedes-Benz EQC with 2,620 kg.
Overall, well over a third of the EVs tested weigh more than 2,000 kg, and thus the average was inflated to almost 1,940 kg. There are only 7 models below 1,500 kg, while more than half of the models are between 1,500 and 2,000 kg.
That’s a big issue for electric cars, because the heavier the car, the less efficient it is, which directly affects the range. Not only that, the car is more expensive as it must be equipped with more powerful brakes, suspension, wheels and tires that happen to last less. In general, a heavier car is also less environmentally friendly.
The chart below illustrates the weight of EVs and, by the way, reveals how big of a potential for improvements there is. One one hand – higher energy-dense batteries would be welcome, but there are also other options like the cell-to-pack and structural battery packs that could make a big difference in the future.
* some data estimated
** vehicle weight measured with the driver