How much range an EV loses in winter

It depends on the test, and the tests disagree by a lot. That's the useful part. None of these are my measurements.

0 °C, motorway, on a bench: 50% to 68% of WLTP range left. ADAC's winter test, published 22 January 2026, ran 14 family EVs through a simulated Munich to Berlin. CleanThinking reports the range and an average speed of 111 km/h. Cars started without battery heating and held the cabin at 20 to 23 °C. heise notes 0 °C is slightly below the German winter average.

-9 to 1 °C, Norwegian roads: about 80% to 85% on two familiar cars. In the El Prix of January 2025, ÖAMTC's table has a Hyundai Ioniq 5 at 440 km against 546 km WLTP, and a Kia EV3 at 504 km against 590 km. Those are 19.4% and 14.6% short, with the cabin at 21 °C. They aren't the versions I cover below. The WLTP numbers show that.

Down to -32 °C: 38% short on average. That's El Prix 2026, with 24 cars, according to the FIA. It was the record cold, so don't plan on it unless you live up there.

Same physics, three answers. Compare the first two: similar air, different roads, different cars. My reading is that cold gets the blame for a fair part of what the motorway does.

Short trips lose differently

ADAC separated the two in an analysis from November 2024, as reported by CleanThinking. On the 23 km WLTP loop at -7 °C, Green NCAP measurements showed consumption up 70% on average and range down about 40%. On 100 km runs at 0 °C, a VW ID.3, Renault Zoe and Peugeot e-208 used only 21% to 30% more.

The first few minutes cost most, because a cold cabin takes a lot of heat to warm up and little to stay warm.

So the worst percentage comes with the shortest trip, when it hurts least. CleanThinking puts the average German commute at about 15 km each way. Even with 70% more energy, a 30 km day is a small bite from any car here.

The sum for two cars

Take the Hyundai Ioniq 5 Centriq at 570 km WLTP and the Kia EV3 Air at 436 km. Apply ADAC's 50% to 68% and you'd plan on a hypothetical 300 km motorway run like this:

That's my arithmetic, not a test of these cars. ADAC only took cars rated at 500 km or more, so the EV3 Air wasn't eligible. The Ioniq 5 was in, with the widest gap at 69% over its WLTP consumption, though the reports I read don't name the version. So I'd use the low end for it. The Kia stops on that run either way. The Hyundai might not, and I wouldn't bet on it.

Cost moves too. Take the field average of 57% above WLTP. The Ioniq's 16 kWh/100 km becomes about 25 kWh/100 km, and at a public €0.55/kWh, that's about €13.80 per 100 km. For your own mix of home and public, use the running-cost calculator, which opens with 25 kWh typed in and nothing added on top.

What you can do about it

Heat the car while it's plugged in. That energy comes from the grid, CleanThinking notes, so it's not leaving the battery.

Slow down. It's free, and on my reading of the two tests above it's a bigger lever than anything you can buy.

Don't pay extra for a heat pump on faith. In a December 2022 cold-chamber study reported by CleanThinking, ADAC found no clear heat pump advantage at -10 °C, and expects more benefit in mild winters. Whether a heat pump comes with your version is a question for the price list.

Allow for charging. The FIA says most El Prix 2026 cars came close to stated 10 to 80% times when the battery was preconditioned first. ADAC ran its stops without conditioning, on the argument that a driven battery is warm enough, and heise says its own winter autobahn experience has differed.

The reason any of this surprises people is the rated figure, covered in WLTP vs real range. If range stays short in warm weather, that's another matter, and the battery warranty explainer covers it.

Figures were read on November 2, 2026, and the Kia and Hyundai numbers are maker-rated specs checked 2 November 2026.