Winter and an electric car: range, heat pump and charging

The main question from EV buyers in Kazakhstan, Siberia or Central Asia is how the car will cope with winter. The answer is reassuring: electric cars drive in the frost too, but in winter they behave differently from summer. Let us look at what changes and how to prepare.

Why range drops in winter

There are two reasons. First, chemical processes in a cold battery run more slowly, so it delivers and accepts energy less well until it warms up. Second, energy is needed to heat the cabin, the windows and the battery itself. In a petrol car heat is a by-product of the engine; in an electric car it has to come from the battery.

How much range drops depends on temperature, speed, trip length and where the car spends the night. For planning it is best to allow a margin. If, for example, winter range falls by a quarter, a BYD Dolphin rated at 520 km on the CLTC cycle will cover about 390 km, and an XPeng G6 rated at 755 km about 565 km.

The heat pump

An ordinary electric heater turns battery energy into heat one to one. A heat pump works like an air conditioner in reverse: it moves heat from outside and from the car’s components into the cabin, and spends less energy doing so than the heat it delivers. That is why it noticeably saves range in the cold.

A heat pump has a limit: the harder the frost, the less heat it can draw from outside and the lower its efficiency. That is why cars usually pair it with an electric heater that switches on in severe cold. Even so, for most of the winter a heat pump saves energy compared with a car that has only a heater.

Charging habits

1. Charge at home overnight: by morning the battery is full, and if the car supports scheduled preheating, warm too.
2. Warm the cabin while the car is plugged in: the energy for heating comes from the socket, not the battery.
3. Before fast charging, navigate to the station: many electric cars preheat the battery on the way, so it takes power faster.
4. Do not leave the car in the frost for long with a nearly empty battery.
5. If you have a choice, park overnight in a heated garage or at least under a roof.

What else helps

Heated seats and a heated steering wheel use less energy than warming the whole cabin, so in winter they are a good substitute for a high climate-control setting. Do not forget the 12-volt battery: an electric car has one too, it powers the electronics and can run flat in the frost. A compact 12 V jump starter from our catalog costs ₽8,700 delivered to Almaty and is in stock.

If chargers are scarce where you live and winters are long, consider an EREV: when charge runs low, the generator takes over. And if you choose an electric car, pick one with range to spare — the calculator shows the turnkey price of any car in our catalog for your city.