EV's and their (incorrect) race for performance

If you examine the recent EV headlines (even looking back the last 12 months) there are a large portion covering how different manufacturers have made their cars faster. In the last three weeks (at time of writing) the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra has made the headlines as it has 1,500 horsepower. For context, that's enough power to cause whiplash if you aren't sat correctly / don't have your neck braced. Safe to say you don't need this for the school run, yet many models of EV's are all pushing this type of improvement.

What doesn't seen to be making the headlines (and in truth many manufacturers don't appear to be trying) is significant improvements around range / charging time (BYD is an exception to this, more on them later). As someone who dreamt (and preordered) a BMW i4 when they were first released, seeing that in the years that have passed the range on the vehicle hasn't significantly changed and the technology that underpins it is more of the same, honestly it feels that range isn't even on the priority list.

With that said, as far as range is concerned there aren't that many methods for increasing it:

Use batteries that have a higher energy density (more fuel in the same tank)
Improve the inverter efficiency (more power, less waste heat)
Improve motor efficiency (do more with less)
Reduce the drag coefficient (make it slippier through the air)
Lower the rolling resistance (make it slippier on the road)
Reduce the overall weight (make it lighter)

On the last point, weight reduction can take place in many places (including some you wouldn't think):

Body panels
The seats
The wheels (though carbon fiber wheels are incredibly expensive)
Moving to an 800 volt (or higher) architecture (copper cables are heavy, and get thinner/lighter as the voltage increases
Use structural batteries (removing duplication of structures)

As has been the case for at least the last 5 years, there are many battery improvements that have been talked about but sadly haven't amounted to much / been released. New battery chemistries are periodically discussed but either haven't been approved or are still being tested. The switch from 18650 to 48650 is still underway for some manufacturers, however the batteries are in short supply and won't become commonplace any time soon. There are also the pouch-based batteries which China is leading the way in, which do (on paper) have a lot of benefits, however these also aren't commonplace. For now, its more of the same.

Weight reduction (and making a car slippier through the air) aren't as easy as you may think. Since the BMW i3 was released its been proven that while you can reduce the weight of the vehicle it can be incredibly expensive to do so. The i3 was an engineering masterpiece for its time, but aside from the questionable looks, it didn't sell well because it was overpriced for what it was. While some manufacturers have followed this trend for their purpose-built EV's, lighter components often have to be balanced against overall cost of the vehicle (and a £20K vehicle isn't going to be made out of exotic materials).

Improvements in inverters is slow progress, due in part to how in most cases they already had >90% efficiency. It isn't covered in the news as often, but a few manufacturers have improved their inverters to get an extra 20-30 miles of range (and to improve regenerative braking performance). Motor improvements have been slow for the most part, however in the last 6 months there have been significant developments. Koenigsegg made public their custom-designed motor which has significant power in a very small / light package. YASA have just announced their latest axial flux motor which is seriously impressive and will improve efficiency over the coming years.

To help remove range anxiety (and to get more owners onboard) there has also been a shift in both the availability and speed of public EV chargers. The rollout of 350kW chargers across the UK continues, though the uplift of slower charges to the speeds doesn't appear to be a priority. There is also work in both cities and rural areas to create slower charging points from resources including street lamps. While these won't provide a rapid charge they are suitable for overnight usage, and can be great for those living in cities where they don't have their own parking space.

There is also BYD who are making headlines with their 1MW charging infrstructure, now scheduled to be deployed in the UK in 2026. If this ends up being based on reality rather than fiction, this could be a significant turning point for those who frequently undergo long motorway journeys (as getting 249 miles for 5 minutes of charging is significant).

Some manufacturers are also adopting a clever trick with their 800v architecture, whereby if you connect to a 400v charger (which are very commonplace) it will switch the battery pack into two virtual 400v batteries. This allows the vehicle to make the most of the power available from the charger. While it will never charge as quickly as a dedicated 800v-compatible charger, it does help reduce the time spent waiting.

Even with some subtle improvements in overall range and charging times, I still believe there are two aspects that need to be improved:

WLTP accuracy (the lack of)
The mindset of long drives

With WLTP you get a quoted range figure that is seldom met (unless your vehicle is rolling down the side of a mountain), which frequently leads into disappointment for any new EV driver. Planning journeys around a 250 mile quoted range, only to find that on a bad day you will be lucky if you get 125 miles before empty, is an immediate put-off for anyone in any vehicle. I've found that one of the most useful classification of vehicles on YouTube as of late is where a group of EV's are driven on a motorway at 70 mph with the A/C on / music on / driven as a car would normally be drive, to see what their actual range is (and what happens when they run out). For many people this simple structure of video can help alleviate their range anxiety, by providing a real-world example of how a vehicle behaves.

The mindset of long drives is also an issue, and in a lot of cases more than people realise. The physical impact of being sat in a vehicle for long durations, not to mention desperately holding your bladder as 'its only 50 miles until we are home and the toilets will be nicer', can do lasting damage. The toilet point is in itself something that should be fixed (I say this, but most motorway services I have been to in the last 5 years are actually very clean), however testing the strength of your bladder in this fashion definitely needs to stop. Taking a break (even if for just 10-15 minutes) should be normalised, especially following general guidance of no more than 2 hours before resting.

My hope for the coming 3 years? That manufacturers put serious effort into improving the range / charging times of their vehicles. Make 500 miles of motorway travel the norm, make charging at 500kW (for as much of 0% to 100%) the norm, make 800v (or its successor) the norm, and please, stop increasing the power of vehicles to numbers so high it becomes a major accident statistic.