Weight of Electric Vehicles and their Driving Range per Charge?
By Rajesh Priyadarshi
In this write up, I have tried to highlight how vehicle weight makes the difference between a conventional automobile and an electric vehicle in terms of travel range.
Let us understand the construction of an electric vehicle as compared to a gasoline powered vehicle (assuming some of the weight like power electronics modules in case of electric vehicle and pump, reservoir, radiator, fan, coolant, transmission oil etc. in case of gasoline powered vehicle are approximately same).
Item Weight - Gasoline Powered Vehicle (GPV) for An Audi or VW Passat Weight - Battery Charged Electric Vehicle (EV) for a Tesla Model 3 Which is Heavier?
Curb Weight 1700 Kg 2000 Kg Electric vehicle is heavier
Body Galvanised Steel Aluminium or Galvanised Steel
Battery Pack 540 Kg (85 kWh capacity) Electric vehicle is heavier
Fuel Tank 150 Kg (with 40 litres of fuel)
Engine + Powertrain 500 Kg Electric vehicle is heavier
Drive Axle 680 Kg
From the above table, between two vehicles one powered by gasoline and the other powered by charged battery having identical length, width and height vehicles, we find that an electric vehicle is heavier by around 550 Kg I.e. electric vehicles are heavier than the gasoline powered vehicles by around 20% to 30%.
So what makes the electric vehicles heavier?
If the electric car were made out of aluminium and other light materials it would still weigh significantly more depending on the the amount of battery cells it possessed. So, to summarise, the batteries make the electric vehicle heavier.
The question is: Are the gasoline powered vehicle and the Electric Vehicle comparable in terms of output?
If you take a Tesla Model 3 and compare it to Volkswagen Passat or an Audi A6, you'll find out that the range of the VW or the Audi is higher by 50 to 80 % . The Tesla is roughly 26% to 30% heavier than the gasoline powered vehicle. So for a full tank of fuel a VW or an Audi will cover a distance of 100 kilometres for 10 litres. And it has a capacity of 60 litres. That means you can drive for 600 kilometres uninterrupted.
Whereas a Tesla would cover distance of 346 Kilometres on a single charge (as claimed by Tesla, for model 3). Now, if a Tesla would decide to increase the range of the model 3 to meet the VW or the Audi specs, they would have to install more batteries. This will make the Tesla even more heavier.
Conclusion: Most contemporary electric cars are 25% to 30 % heavier than gasoline cars of comparable size and power output. However, their range is about 30% less than that of an average gasoline vehicle.