Biggest Winter EV Range Test In China Show Polarizing Results For Tesla

On December 2, Chinese automotive platform Autohome has released its much-anticipated winter range test results, revealing a mix of surprises and disappointments.

Though Tesla Model Y/3 are unquestionably one of, if not the most efficient electric vehicles on the market, in this Autohome winter test, energy consumption figures severely deteriorated under extreme cold conditions.

This year, Autohome ran two winter tests, measuring driving range performance at mild cold temperature (5 to 15°C) and extreme cold (-20 to -15°C) to reflect real-world conditions across 80% of China’s diverse climates.

A total of 23 electric vehicles were selected to be part of the experiment, including popular models such as the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, Xiaomi SU7, Onvo L60, Zeekr 7X, Luxeed R7, BYD Sealion 07 EV, Qin PLUS EV, and Seagull, XPeng MONA M03, and Galaxy E8.

The vehicles were preconditioned in a warm garage and fully charged before the test, each carrying three passengers, with cabin temperatures set to 23°C on auto climate control.

The drive modes were set to energy-saving, regenerative braking was at its maximum, and a mix of low- and high-speed driving was used until either the battery was fully depleted or the vehicle entered limp mode.

Mild Cold Temperature (5 to 15°C) Test

Among the 23 models tested, only one vehicle was technically able to deliver the full claimed driving range and it was the BMW i5 with 566.1 km real-world out of 567 km claimed.

The Tesla Model Y AWD Long Range version ranked 15th with 585 km driven, representing 85% of the 688 km claimed CLTC range.

Of the 23 tested electric cars, four were mid-size SUVs benchmarked against the Model Y: Onvo L60, Zeekr 7X, Luxeed R7, and BYD Sealion 07.

The Onvo L60 (RWD 85 kWh version) achieved the highest range retention rate at 93.3% and achieved 681 km of 730 km claimed.

Zeekr 7X and BYD Sealion 07 followed at 88.8% and 86,4%, respectively.

Luxeed R7, which featured the highest claimed range of 802 km, achieved an 84.9% retention rate and real-world range of 681.2 km.

Of all electric vehicles, Tesla Model 3 ranked first with the lowest energy consumption rate of 11.56 kWh/100km.

Tesla Model Y placed 9th at 13.78 kWh/100km, second to only the Onvo L60’s 11.97 kWh/100km in the mid-size SUV segment.

Extreme Cold Temperature (-20 to -15°C) Test

Under extreme cold temperature, energy efficiency and real-world range tanked for virtually all electric vehicles in the experiment.

Only 5 models achieved over 50% of their claimed range, the Galaxy E5, BYD Qin PLUS, Zeekr 7X, BYD Sealion 07, and Luxeed R7.

Surprisingly, Tesla Model 3 RWD performed the worst under extreme conditions, reaching only 234 km of real world range (38.6% of claimed 606 km CLTC range).

Tesla Model Y also only reached 41.6% of claimed range, ranking 18th on the list.

The lowest energy consumption rates were mostly achieved by relatively smaller cars, including the AION V, BYD Seagull, and Geely Xingyuan.

Among mid-size SUVs benchmarked against the Model Y, the Luxeed R7 achieved the lowest energy consumption rate at 24 kWh/100km, followed by the Onvo L60 with 24.71 kWh/100km, Zeekr 7X with 27.76 kWh/100km, and BYD Sealion 07 EV with 29.06 kWh/100km.

Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3 were the worst performers of all cars in terms of energy consumption rates at 30.15 kWh and 30.45 kWh per 100km, respectively.

Another letdown came from the Stelato S9, a high-end luxury sedan borne from the Huawei HIMA alliance.

The S9 ranked 19th with a 39.2% range retention rate and abysmal energy efficiency of 29.64 kWh/100km for a vehicle priced above 400,000 CNY.

Despite being equipped with a ternary lithium battery and a heat pump system, the S9’s thermal management appears to have faltered.

Tesla Model Y Falls Short In Extreme Conditions

Though the Model Y ranked second in energy efficiency compared to its mid-size SUV counterparts during the mild cold winter test at 13.78 kWh/100km, it performed the worst in extreme cold at 30.15 kWh/100km.

Notably, Luxeed R7 ranked first ahead of the Onvo L60 under the extreme cold (-20 TO -15 °C).

The broader takeaway from Autohome’s test is that most EVs cannot achieve even half of their claimed range under the -15°C conditions, despite being optimized for efficiency.

While automakers tout advancements in thermal management and battery technology, these results suggest there’s still a long way to go.