How much electricity does an electric car consume?

What does the consumption of an electric car really mean? By understanding how energy consumption per mile and battery size are related to range, it becomes easier to make a wise car choice.

For a fossil-fueled car, the relationship between fuel quantity and mileage is something most people have an intuitive feeling for. The more the tank is filled, the further it can go. And the higher the consumption of the car, the faster the amount in the tank decreases. With electric cars, it actually works the same way, just measured with a different unit: kilowatt-hours.

Kilowatt hours (kWh) is a unit of energy. One kWh represents the amount of energy consumed when a device that draws 1000 watts (1 kW) is used for one hour.

The battery size in an electric car is measured in kWh and indicates how much energy the battery can store, in the same way that the number of liters indicates how much can be stored in the tank of a gasoline car. The larger the battery, the longer the range of the electric car between charges. The battery in electric cars is normally in the range of 50 to 100 kWh.

Consumption is measured by recording how much energy is consumed from the battery during a certain distance driven, normally the number of kWh per mile. Compare again with the consumption of a petrol car, which is stated in liters per mile. On the Swedish Transport Agency's website you can see the declared consumption for mixed driving. The most economical models average around 1.5 kWh/mile.

How to calculate how much fuel your car consumes

To calculate how far an electric car can drive on a single charge, you divide the battery capacity by the car's consumption. If the car has an 80 kWh battery and uses 2 kWh per mile, the estimated range is 400 miles. However, consumption depends on several factors, including speed, weather conditions and driving style.

This is the cost of the electric car per mile

Consumption has a major impact on how much a car costs to run. The more thirsty the car, the higher the cost per mile. If electricity costs 2.5 kronor per kWh, a consumption of 2 kWh/mile means a cost of 5 kronor per mile, while a frugal car that uses 1.5 kWh/mile costs 3.75 kronor per mile. In a year, when driving 1,500 km, the difference is over 1,800 kronor. Comparing consumption is therefore an easy way to get a handle on which car models are the cheapest to run.