{"id":96888,"date":"2025-12-26T04:37:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T19:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=96888"},"modified":"2025-12-26T14:24:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T04:54:16","slug":"ev-real-world-range-mb3344","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ev-real-world-range-mb3344\/","title":{"rendered":"Sticker Shock: The Real-World Range Of Electric Vehicles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EV<\/p>\n

EV range figures \u2014 and fuel economy for fossil fuel vehicles for that matter \u2014 provided by auto manufacturers can be on the optimistic side; but by how much? Recent and ongoing testing in Australia reveals the differences from real-world driving range can be substantial.<\/p>\n

What’s WLTP Got To Do With It?<\/h2>\n

WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure) is a laboratory-based test for measuring new vehicle fuel economy, electric range, CO2 emissions and other pollutants. WLTP values are currently widely used in Australia by vehicle manufacturers for EV range labeling, but the WLTP test cycle is not a mandatory legal standard for all new vehicles just yet.<\/p>\n

In April 2024, the Australian Government adopted three new Australian Design Rules (ADRs) for light vehicle emissions; one of those being WLTP. Newly approved vehicle models supplied from December 2025 became subject to the ADR’s and new units of existing vehicle models supplied will be covered from July 2028.<\/p>\n

Why Is WLTP Still Problematic?<\/h2>\n

WLTP is more realistic than previous metrics such as the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC); developed in the early 1990s and last updated in 1997. According to RAC WA<\/a>, the NEDC test procedure results in approximately 20-30 per cent lower range\/mileage than motorists can expect to experience in real-world driving.<\/p>\n

WLTP testing runs longer than NEDC (30 minutes vs. 20), further (23.5 km vs. 11 km) and has more driving phases; 4 vs. 2. It is conducted using a dynamometer. The car doesn’t move – the dynamometer works by using large rollers to spin the wheels or a direct engine link. Under WLTP, vehicles are subjected to speeds up to 60km\/h, 80km\/h, 100km\/h and 130km\/h.<\/p>\n

But as the WLTP lab test is also carried out in ideal, controlled conditions it doesn’t fully reflect real-world variability such as wind, hills, A\/C use,\u00a0 traffic, driving style or heavy loads.<\/p>\n

Scandal Sets Wheels In Motion: Australian Real-World Testing<\/h2>\n

The 2015 Volkswagen scandal<\/a> (aka Dieselgate or Emissionsgate) revealed increasingly strict regulation of vehicle emissions encouraging car makers to optimise vehicles for laboratory instead of real-world performance.<\/p>\n

The scandal eventually sparked Australia’s Real-World Testing Program<\/a> that was started in 2023 with $14 million of Commonwealth funding and is being run by the Australian Automobile Association. The program tests vehicles on a 93-kilometre circuit in and around Geelong in Victoria.<\/p>\n

\"Real<\/p>\n

As at December 2025, the program had released results for 131 internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicles; revealing a whopping 76% of tested cars exceeding the fuel consumption recorded in lab tests \u2014 and one in five also exceeding noxious emissions limits applicable to lab tests. The program had also begun testing electric vehicle models, with the results of more added early this month.<\/p>\n

The program aims to test up to 200 different vehicle makes and models \u2014 Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), hybrids and battery electric vehicles \u2014 over its four-year duration; running to 2027.<\/p>\n

For battery electric vehicles<\/a>, when an EV’s low state of charge (SoC) warning displays or the battery’s SoC reaches 15%, it is fully charged to 100% and real-world performance calculations made.<\/p>\n

Real World EV Range Results<\/h2>\n

Here are the EV numbers so far from the AAA, with figures reported in accordance with Australian Design Rule 81\/02<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Update 2.40 PM:<\/strong> I’ve been made aware some of the AAA-provided mandated lab result figures below are NEDC rather than WLTP and the AAA results don’t make the distinction. An example is the Atto 3. As well as the NEDC figure, the Australian BYD website also notes the WLTP range of the Atto 3 Extended Range as 420km. <\/strong>I’ve clarified the values in the table, noting the figures used in the AAA results in bold.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
EV Model<\/th>\n\u00a0Mandated Lab Result<\/th>\nReal World Result<\/th>\nDifference<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
BYD Atto 3 2023 – Extended Range<\/td>\nNEDC – 480 km<\/strong>
\n(WLTP – 420 km)<\/td>\n		369 km<\/td>\n-23%
\n-12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kia EV3 2025 – Air Long Range<\/td>\nWLTP – 604 km<\/strong><\/td>\n537 km<\/td>\n-11%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kia EV6 2022 – Air<\/td>\nWLTP – 528 km<\/strong><\/td>\n484 km<\/td>\n-8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MG 4 2023 – Excite 51<\/td>\nNEDC – 405 km<\/strong>
\n(WLTP – 350 km)<\/td>\n		281 km<\/td>\n-31%
\n-20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smart #1 2024 – Pro Plus<\/td>\nWLTP – 420 km<\/strong><\/td>\n367 km<\/td>\n-13%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smart #3 2024 – Premium<\/td>\nWLTP – 455 km<\/strong><\/td>\n432 km<\/td>\n-5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tesla Model 3 2024 – RWD<\/td>\nWLTP – 513 km<\/strong><\/td>\n441 km<\/td>\n-14%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tesla Model Y 2024 – Long Range<\/td>\nWLTP – 533 km<\/strong><\/td>\n490 km<\/td>\n-8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tesla Model Y 2025 – RWD<\/td>\nWLTP – 466 km<\/strong><\/td>\n450 km<\/td>\n-3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Speaking from our own experience with a BYD 2023 Atto 3 Extended Range:<\/p>\n