A recent study by the Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE) reveals a discrepancy between the reported all-electric range of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on government-mandated Monroney labels and the real-world results obtained in testing. The study contrasted the accuracy of BEV labels versus the “fuel economy label-to-on-road correlation” for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, finding more alignment in the ICE values. Battery electric vehicles are also simply known as EVs, short for electric vehicles.
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The study, “Comparison of On-Road Highway Fuel Economy and All-Electric Range to Label Values: Are the Current Label Procedures Appropriate for Battery Electric Vehicles?” is available for purchase ($35) directly from the SAE website. Using data from Car and Driver magazine’s testing from 2016 onward, the study acknowledges the challenges of testing and measuring BEV range, as many factors complicate reproducible results. Temperature, state of charge, and many other variables affect on-road energy consumption. ICE labels have proven to correlate more closely to real-world measurements.
The study warns that BEV range labels and testing procedures must be updated, concluding, “Consequently, these results support the need to re-evaluate the labeling procedures for this emerging technology as it continues to become increasingly prominent in the marketplace.”
