Norwegianβs automotive magazine Motor.no conducted one of the toughest winter range tests ever with 24 electric vehicles, a report says. As nearly half of them were Chinaβs EVs, we looked at their performance in those harsh conditions.
The test was particularly challenging due to freezing rain, which made the roads slippery. The range was tracked by GPS and later compared with the WLTP range and consumption, according to the report. Some EVs didnβt share the consumption data, so the cell is blank.
The car with the best (lowest negative) deviation from the claimed WLTP range was Polestar 3, which traveled a distance of 537 km, only 4.1% less than the automakerβs claimed in βsummer laboratoryβ WLTP conditions.
Polestar 3, like all Polestar vehicles, is made in Geelyβs plant in China. The company was owned by Volvo, which is owned by Geely Group. However, Volvo stopped funding Polestar last year as Geely took more control and reshuffled the shareholder structure.
Polestar 3 roll of the production line in Geelyβs Chengdu plant on Seventh East Checheng Road with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles.
Second place goes to another Chinese EV, the BYD Tang SUV. BYD is not usually a favorite of winter range tests, as is also proven later; however, the deviation from the manufacturerβs claimed range was only 9.6%.
The last place goes to a Chinese EV, Dongfengβs Voyah Dream MPV. The winter test range was almost 30% smaller than the claimed WLTP range.
Dongfengβs premium brand, Voyah, is struggling in Europe. For example, in mid-January, its SUV Voyah FreeΒ was discounted by an unbelievable 700,000 CZKΒ (28,900 USD) in Czechia for a limited time to clear the stock. As of today, the discount is still active.
Regarding charging speed from 10 β 80% SoC, the winner was also from Geelyβs stable. Lotus Emeya took only 16 minutes to charge 80% during freezing rain, thanks to its 800 V architecture. Lotus Emeya is made in Geelyβs plant in Wuhan, the same where the SUV Eletre is made.
No other Chinese EV made it to top three, however Xpeng G6 and Nio EL6 (ES6 in China) provided fair enough results.
Voyah Dream and most of the BYD cars were unsurprised to find themselves in last positions among Chinese EVs, overtaken only by the Peugeot E3008 and its time of 46 minutes.
In maximum charging power performance, the Lotus Emeya sedan with 800V architecture again took first place, with a peak charging power of 331 kW. The Xpeng G6 reached the top three with 281 kW, only 6 kW less than the Porsche Taycan. The G6 is available in 400V and 800V versions. The report didnβt clarify which one was tested, but from the charging speed result, we can assume it was most likely the 800V version.
As usual, the last place is not surprising. Interestingly, the Nio EL6, which had the fifth-best charging speed, was 15th in peak charging power at 184 kW.
Regarding average consumption, the Tesla Model 3 was a clear winner with 14 kWh/100 km, despite being 12% less than what it claims under WLTP. According to the report, many Chinese EVs donβt state consumption for the entire trip, so they do not qualify. Chinaβs best was Geelyβs Smart #3, which came in sixth place with 18 kWh/100 km consumption, 2.3% less than WLTP.
Lotus Emeya sedan and Voyah Dream occupied the last positions with 22.4 kWh/100 km and 27.2 kWh/100 km, respectively.
The vehicle battery size highly influences the total range in the winter test; however, here is the leaderboard table. No matter what, Voyah Dream is in its usual position again with a 340 km range, joined by Smart #3, which had 1 km more.
Polestar was the winner with a 537 km traveled range. BYD Tang SUV was in fifth place with 479 km.
