Geotab Analysis Examines Electric Truck Ranges

Geotab has a new electric vehicle (EV) range analysis tool, which examines the impact of speed and temperature.

The interactive analysis, showcased for the first time at Geotab Connect 2023, uses de-identified, aggregated data from 3 million EV trips and 550,000 hours of driving time to better understand the relative range impact of temperature and speed.

Widespread EV Adoption

The analysis allows users to explore two significant factors that impact range, namely outdoor temperature and a vehicle’s drag at different speeds.

Understanding the functional range of an EV helps increase knowlege that vehicles are operating efficiently under present conditions.

The analysis compares the range of two vehicle body types by modeling an electric sedan and a light cargo van, both adjusted to represent a 65 kWh battery.

From the analysis, Geotab observed that the speed at which vehicles drive influences the relative impact of temperature.

At low speeds, temperature can significantly impact range, and at higher speeds, temperature becomes much less relevant.

Optimizing Speed and Temperatures for Work Trucks

The size and shape of the vehicle also influence the optimal conditions to maximize EV range, and larger vehicles lose range more quickly with increased speed.

These insights reveal that the best strategy to optimize EV range should consider the context of the trip.

For a highway route, avoiding speeding will be the best strategy to conserve range, especially for larger vehicles. For slower routes, there will be more seasonal variability in range, so mitigating the impact of temperature will have the best results.

As for work trucks, Rob Minton, associate vice president, Connected Car Business Development at Geotab explained, “The bigger the truck, the more aerodynamic drag it creates, which reduces range. Doubling your speed, say from 35 to 70, increases drag by a factor of 4. Drag reduces range. Trucks that operate on highways will need to balance getting to the destination ASAP vs. the effect of higher speeds on range. Trucks that operate on surface streets where speeds (buses, refuse trucks, etc.) are lower will be more impacted by the ambient temperature effect on operating range.”