Electric cars have less autonomy on the highway than in the city

Not many people know that the range of an electric car works in the opposite way to that of gasoline cars. In cars with combustion engines, the autonomy is greater when driving on the highway because the engine works in a more stable way than in the city, where acceleration, braking and vehicle stops occur.

And it is especially those accelerations that produce peaks in fuel consumption, which reduce the autonomy of the gasoline car.

The electric car works in a totally different way. The energy is stored in the battery, and when the car starts up the battery sends a current to the electric motor that drives it.

But that battery has its own internal resistance, and the higher the current being sent to the motor, the more energy is “lost” in that internal resistance. And that is an energy that produces heat and does not make the car move.

When an electric car drives on a highway, it goes faster and the battery sends a greater current to the electric motor, therefore more energy is lost in its internal resistance.

On the other hand, when an electric car drives through a city, it goes at a lower speed and therefore the battery sends less current to the electric motor, and less energy is lost in the internal resistance. Therefore, the autonomy of the car is greater.

And also, driving in the city is when more decelerations occur, and in these cases the motors generate a certain current that recharges the battery a bit. Which helps to improve the autonomy of the car a little.

Something to take into account in the battery of an electric car is the operating temperature. And in cases of high or low temperatures, its operation worsens, and provides less energy, and therefore less autonomy.

In an electric car, the battery management system is essential, since it is what provides life to the vehicle. In general, they are complex computer systems, with very powerful hardware and a multitude of sensors to measure different parameters of the car and its environment.

With electric cars, experts recommend scheduling the trip as well as possible, more than in the case of a gasoline car, and especially charging stations, as this will help make the trip as smooth as possible.