It seems that even electric cars don't want to go far in this cold spell where temperatures drop below minus 20 degrees Celsius.

One Tesla Model 3 driver said, “Other devices in the car worked fine on cold days, but I felt a decrease in driving range even when I wasn’t driving long distances.”

According to the Ministry of Environment's Integrated Website for Zero-Emission Vehicles, the 2022 Tesla Model 3 Long Range HPL, which uses an 84.96kWh lithium-ion battery, has a driving range of 527.9km at room temperature and 440.1km at low temperatures (-6.7 degrees Celsius), a difference of 87.8km.

▲From the Hyundai Ioniq 6 catalog (Image source: Hyundai Motor Company)

The Ioniq 6 catalog on the Hyundai Motor Company website does not indicate the driving range at low temperatures, and only provides the following explanation in the additional description: "Actual driving range may decrease due to reduced battery performance when the outside temperature drops, such as in winter."

Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and 6 also shrink in cold temperatures.

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▲Capture from the Ministry of Environment’s EV zero-emission vehicle integrated website

The 2022 Ioniq 5 2WD Long Range 19-inch model, which uses a 72.6kWh lithium-ion battery, has a range of 423km at room temperature and 345km at low temperatures, a difference of 78km.

The Ioniq 6 2WD Long Range 18-inch model, which uses a 77.4kWh lithium-ion battery, has a range of 544km at room temperature and 428km at low temperatures, a big difference of 116km.

The 2022 Genesis G80 Electrified, equipped with an 87.2kWh lithium-ion battery, saved face with a range of 433km at room temperature and 411km at low temperatures, a difference of only 22km.

The 2022 EV6 Long Range 2WD 19-inch model with a 77.4kWh lithium-ion battery has a range of 483km at room temperature and 446km at low temperatures, a difference of 37km.

The reason lithium-ion batteries perform less well in winter is because the battery's electrolyte is liquid.

This is because the electrolyte, which acts as a medium that allows lithium ions to move from the anode to the cathode, solidifies at low temperatures.

Manufacturers have also prepared for winter by introducing 'heat pump systems' and 'battery heating systems' due to these problems.

Hyundai Motor Group's 'heat pump system' uses waste heat generated from electrical components to vaporize liquid eco-friendly refrigerant into gas, increases pressure with a compressor, and then transfers the high-pressure gas to a condenser to convert it back into liquid. He explained that it is a system that uses the heat generated to heat indoors.

This is a technology to efficiently operate heating that consumes a lot of power and maximize the performance of the battery.p;

The 'battery heating system' is a system that heats the battery to a certain temperature when it drops below an appropriate temperature, and also maintains the temperature during charging, thereby increasing charging efficiency.

Hyundai Motor Group explained that the battery heating system has the effect of reducing the ultra-fast charging time by about 25 minutes in the same environment.

Experts explained, “When purchasing an electric vehicle, it is recommended to check whether the above two systems are included as options,” and added, “It is recommended to keep the battery capacity above 30%, and when driving long distances, it is recommended to find out the location of charging stations in advance.”

There are also simple winter battery maintenance tips for car owners.

Because batteries are sensitive to temperature, it is important to keep them from getting too cold by parking them indoors.

Hyundai Motor Group has actually reported that electric heaters consume a lot of electricity and that the driving distance is reduced in proportion to the amount of heater usage.

Drivers can save initial heating energy by using the reservation air conditioning while the charging cable is connected, and can reduce battery power consumption slightly by using the heated seats instead of the heater.

When the reservation air conditioning is turned on while the charging cable is connected, the air conditioning system operates using external electricity rather than the electric vehicle's battery power, so the car can be started with a fully charged battery.

Heated sheets consume significantly less power than heaters, allowing you to enjoy both the heat retention effect and reduced power consumption.

Additionally, the coolant in electric vehicles needs to be checked because it plays a role in maintaining the battery temperature at a certain level even in winter.