IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i17p7529-d1467851.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy Consumption of Electric Vehicles in Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Weiss

    (Environmental Planning and Technology Department, Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld, University of Applied Sciences Trier, P.O. Box 1380, 55761 Birkenfeld, Germany)

  • Trey Winbush

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 1610 Illinois Street, Golden, CO 80401, USA)

  • Alexandra Newman

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 1610 Illinois Street, Golden, CO 80401, USA)

  • Eckard Helmers

    (Environmental Planning and Technology Department, Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld, University of Applied Sciences Trier, P.O. Box 1380, 55761 Birkenfeld, Germany)

Abstract

As the European Union advances its regulatory framework on energy efficiency, the introduction of an energy label for electric cars appears increasingly relevant. Anticipating this policy development, we present a scoping analysis of energy consumption and efficiency trade-offs across 342 fully electric cars available in Europe. Our results suggest that certified and real-world energy consumption average 19 ± 4 kWh/100 km and 21 ± 4 kWh/100 km, translating into drive ranges of 440 ± 120 km and 380 ± 110 km, respectively. Energy consumption is correlated with mass, frontal area, and battery capacity but less so with rated power and vehicle price. Each 100 kg of vehicle mass and 0.1 m 2 of frontal area increases energy consumption by 0.2 ± 0.1 kWh/100 km and 0.9 ± 0.1 kWh/100 km, respectively. Raising battery capacity by 10 kWh elevates vehicle mass by 143 ± 4 kg, energy consumption by 0.6 ± 0.1 kWh/100 km, drive range by 44 ± 2 km, and vehicle price by 12,000 ± 600 EUR. Efficient cars are available at any price, but long drive ranges have a cost. These findings point to considerable efficiency trade-offs that could be revealed to consumers through a dedicated energy label. We propose several options for classifying vehicles on an efficiency scale from A to G, with and without drive range and battery capacity as utility parameters. Our analysis provides a rationale for the energy labeling of electric cars in the European Union and could inspire similar analyses for other vehicle categories such as e-scooters, lightweight electric three- and four-wheelers, e-busses, e-trucks, and electric non-road machinery.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Weiss & Trey Winbush & Alexandra Newman & Eckard Helmers, 2024. "Energy Consumption of Electric Vehicles in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-26, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:17:p:7529-:d:1467851
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/17/7529/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/17/7529/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tomáš Skrúcaný & Martin Kendra & Ondrej Stopka & Saša Milojević & Tomasz Figlus & Csaba Csiszár, 2019. "Impact of the Electric Mobility Implementation on the Greenhouse Gases Production in Central European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Galvin, Ray, 2022. "Are electric vehicles getting too big and heavy? Modelling future vehicle journeying demand on a decarbonized US electricity grid," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    3. Maksymilian Mądziel & Tiziana Campisi, 2023. "Energy Consumption of Electric Vehicles: Analysis of Selected Parameters Based on Created Database," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-18, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eckard Helmers, 2024. "Do’s and Don’ts in Climate Impact Assessment of University Campuses: Towards Responsible, Transparent and Comprehensive Reporting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-24, October.
    2. Badenhoop, Nikolai & Riedel, Max, 2024. "Reforming EU car labels: How to achieve consumer-friendly transparency?," SAFE Working Paper Series 433, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    3. Sónia Gouveia & Daniel H. de la Iglesia & José Luís Abrantes & Alfonso J. López Rivero & Elisabete Silva & Eduardo Gouveia & Vasco Santos, 2025. "Creating Value Through Strategic Management: Sustainable Mobility for Family-Owned Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises with Electric Vehicles in the Digital Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-29, February.
    4. Efe Savran & Esin Karpat & Fatih Karpat, 2024. "Sustainable Energy Management in Electric Vehicles Through a Fuzzy Logic-Based Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Filip Škultéty & Dominika Beňová & Jozef Gnap, 2021. "City Logistics as an Imperative Smart City Mechanism: Scrutiny of Clustered EU27 Capitals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Piotr Pryciński & Piotr Pielecha & Jarosław Korzeb & Jacek Pielecha & Mariusz Kostrzewski & Ahmed Eliwa, 2024. "Air Pollutant Emissions of Passenger Cars in Poland in Terms of Their Environmental Impact and Type of Energy Consumption," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-21, October.
    3. Cempírek Václav & Rybicka Iwona & Ljubaj Ivica, 2019. "Development of Electromobility in Terms of Freight Transport," LOGI – Scientific Journal on Transport and Logistics, Sciendo, vol. 10(2), pages 23-32, November.
    4. Huang, Robert & Kahn, Matthew E., 2024. "An economic analysis of United States public transit carbon emissions dynamics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    5. Salvini, Pericle & Kunze, Lars & Jirotka, Marina, 2024. "On self-driving cars and its (broken?) promises. A case study analysis of the German Act on Autonomous Driving," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Ruoxi Pan & Yiping Liang & Yifei Li & Kai Zhou & Jiarui Miao, 2023. "Environmental and Health Benefits of Promoting New Energy Vehicles: A Case Study Based on Chongqing City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, June.
    7. Paweł Piotrowski & Dariusz Baczyński & Marcin Kopyt, 2022. "Medium-Term Forecasts of Load Profiles in Polish Power System including E-Mobility Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-27, August.
    8. Claudiu Vasile Kifor & Niculina Alexandra Grigore, 2023. "Circular Economy Approaches for Electrical and Conventional Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-28, April.
    9. Carlos Armenta-Déu, 2024. "Improving Sustainability in Urban and Road Transportation: Dual Battery Block and Fuel Cell Hybrid Power System for Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-21, March.
    10. repec:ers:journl:v:xxiv:y:2021:i:2b:p:135-144 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. repec:ers:journl:v:xxiv:y:2021:i:special1:p:28-39 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Mohammad Junaid & Zsolt Szalay & Árpád Török, 2021. "Evaluation of Non-Classical Decision-Making Methods in Self Driving Cars: Pedestrian Detection Testing on Cluster of Images with Different Luminance Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-16, November.
    13. Bubelíny Oliver & Ďaďová Irina & Kubina Milan & Soviar Jakub, 2019. "The Use of Smart Elements for the Transport Operation in the Slovak Cities," LOGI – Scientific Journal on Transport and Logistics, Sciendo, vol. 10(2), pages 51-60, November.
    14. Marcelo Bruno Capeletti & Bruno Knevitz Hammerschmitt & Leonardo Nogueira Fontoura da Silva & Nelson Knak Neto & Jordan Passinato Sausen & Carlos Henrique Barriquello & Alzenira da Rosa Abaide, 2024. "User Behavior in Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles: An Analysis of Parameters and Clustering," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-20, September.
    15. Krystian Pietrzak & Oliwia Pietrzak & Andrzej Montwiłł, 2023. "A Study on the Effects of Applying Cargo Delivery Systems to Support Energy Transition in Agglomeration Areas—An Example of the Szczecin Agglomeration, Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-22, December.
    16. Janusz Figura & Teresa Gądek-Hawlena, 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Development of Electromobility in Poland. The Perspective of Companies in the Transport-Shipping-Logistics Sector: A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, February.
    17. Weiwei Liu & Jianbei Liu & Qiang Yu & Donghui Shan & Chao Wang & Zhiwei Wu, 2024. "Optimal Speed Ranges for Different Vehicle Types for Exhaust Emission Control," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-21, November.
    18. Silvia Tomasi & Alyona Zubaryeva & Cesare Pizzirani & Margherita Dal Col & Jessica Balest, 2021. "Propensity to Choose Electric Vehicles in Cross-Border Alpine Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Wojciech Lewicki & Wojciech Drozdz, 2021. "Electromobility and its Development Prospects in the Context of Industry 4.0: A Comparative Study of Poland and the European Union," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2 - Part ), pages 135-144.
    20. Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka & Filip Polak & Leszek Szczęch, 2022. "Water Power Plants Possibilities in Powering Electric Cars—Case Study: Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-17, February.
    21. Antti Lajunen & Klaus Kivekäs & Jari Vepsäläinen & Kari Tammi, 2020. "Influence of Increasing Electrification of Passenger Vehicle Fleet on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Finland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-13, June.
    22. Maksymilian Mądziel, 2024. "Energy Modeling for Electric Vehicles Based on Real Driving Cycles: An Artificial Intelligence Approach for Microscale Analyses," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-22, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:17:p:7529-:d:1467851. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.