The FleetPro Blog: What Is Range Anxiety?

10 September 2020

So What Is Range Anxiety?

Electric car battery range is probably the most sensitive aspect of running an EV.

There's even a term for worrying about the remaining charge in a vehicle's battery and the availability of a recharger at the destination.

It's called 'Range Anxiety'.

What Does Range Anxiety Mean?

If you imagine the early era of motoring in ICE (internal combustion engine) cars, drivers had to carry with them enough fuel for their entire journey, out and back.

This was because we were still in the age of real horse power - the country hadn't yet woken up to motoring and sources of fuel were few and far between.

And knowledge about fuel consumption and driving style was sketchy to say the least, so drivers had to make sure they had fuel to spare to get to their destination and back again.

Fast forward a hundred years or so and, surprisingly, we're back in the same situation.

Although most ICE motorists are probably comfortable with knowing the range and fuel consumption rates of their cars, if they run low on fuel they can rely on an extensive network of fuel stations around the country to top-up when necessary.

The same can't be said for intrepid EV motorists though.

Drivers of electric cars typically have far less experience of how far a full battery will go, and whether or not there will be somewhere to recharge at the destination.

In comparison to fuel stations, the current network of EV recharging stations is sparse and the availability of chargers when you need one can't be guaranteed.

Unlike a traditional fuel pump, where even a queue of drivers waiting to fill up will clear in a few minutes, an EV driver could be waiting a long time for access to a power boost if someone else has beaten you to the charger.

And drivers of electric cars typically have less experience of how their car's batteries behave under loads like heating and air conditioning. Turn on the heating in mid-winter and you can probably watch your battery range dwindle as the cosiness of the cabin improves

We've put together data on the comparative electric ranges of hybrid cars, plus performance and recharge times for PHEVs and BEVs.

Take a look at our Eco Car Search where you can see electric ranges side-by-side and more.