If you’re looking to buy an electric car, you have probably come across a huge list of electric car specifications when looking at models. You’re not alone if you can’t make sense of them all. Although some similar terms are used for traditional engine vehicles, there are a lot of new terms when it comes down to battery electric cars.
Many of these different specifications are used when measuring the car’s energy consumption, efficiency, distance, e.c.t. However, specs such as battery capacity are also essential, in finding the best charging solution for your EV. You will need to choose a charger that works with your car Battery capacity. So, what are all the car specifications, and which are most important when purchasing an electric vehicle?
Electric Car Specifications
EV’s have flooded into the market in recent years. To be precise, in 2022, 16.6% of all new car sales were electric. There are continually more models being released by automakers. All with different drive styles, horsepower, accelerations times, speed and more. Researching electric car specifications when buying an EV is essential to get a breakdown of the main car features, functions, and to determine which car model is going to be the perfect fit.
All Electric Car Specifications
Since electric car specifications are vital in comparing car models and finding the best fit. Below is a breakdown of all the different Electric car specifications, energy consumption parameters measuring efficiency, as well as all frequently used related EV terms:
Energy Consumption Parameters:
kW (Kilowatts) – You may be familiar with the term kilowatts already. Kilowatts are are term of measurement used to measure power consumptions of electric goods. A lot of EV specifications use kW to show power, but some will also use horsepower (PS). Regarding your EV charger, the higher the kW, the faster your EV will charge.
kWh (Kilowatts per hour) – is another similar term, it’s the same as both battery size and capacity. Kilowatts per hour determines how long the electric car can travel before running out of power.
MPGe – (Miles per galon- equivalent) – MPGe is pretty explanatory in the name. I’ts the equivalent measuremeant of a gas powered car. For example, the Tesla model 3 has 141 MPGe, so it is able to travel 141 miles with the equal amount of battery power to gallon of petrol.
NM- (Newton Meter) – NM is the unit of measurement for torque, which essentially measures the cars pulling power.
WTLP Range (Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Test Procedure) – WTLP measures new car fuel economy, electric driving range and emissions.
AMP- Amperes show how much electricity is flowing at once.
Other Need-To-Know EV specs
Acceleration – Acceleration, measured in seconds, is the time it takes the EV to warm up and go.
State of Charge- Referring to the electric car dashboard display, showing the percentage of the car’s remaining battery power.
Battery capacity – This is how much power your EV battery holds. On average batteries can hold around 40 kWh, but some cars can hold around 100kWh. The Ford F-150 Lightning holds 98 kWh of battery capacity. You will have to take into consideration battery capacity when looking to purchase a home charging station.
Usable capacity– Related with the battery capacity, the usable battery capacity is what is percentage of the battery is available. Electric vehicles usually only use 95-99% of available battery capacity. While the rest is for reserve.
Torque – Torque plays a big role in how fast your car accelerates. Essentially torque is the measure of force that results in rotation. For example, even in the motion of unscrewing the lid to a bottle of water, is torque is present.
Range – Simply, is the distance your electric car can travel on a single charge. Range is the specification most people are interested in. Most new electric car owners want to know their car can travel a fair distance, and won’t require constant topping up.
Vehicle Types– ZEV– Zero emissions vehicle. Used to describe any eco friendly vehicle that does not emit any pollution into the atmosphere. A BEV is an example of a ZEV, however PHEV and ICE vehicles don’t count as a zero emission vehicles. BEV- Battery electric vehicle, any vehicle powered by an electric car battery. PHEV- Plug in Hybrid electric vehicle. These hybrid vehicles contain both an internal combustion engine and a battery pack onboard. ICE- Internal combustion engine. ICE cars have a traditional engine, with a gas-powered tank.
Current- There are two types of current. Electric current flows from electricity network as an alternating current (AC), then the battery charger converts the AC into direct current (DC) power. Which is then stored in the car’s onboard battery.
Finding EV specs Online
You can find all electric car specifications on ev specifications database, as well as images and videos of all existing and upcoming electric car models, here.
Stay up to date with the latest electric vehicle news and updates here:
14th February 2023