The driving range has always been seen as a key factor for electric vehicles, especially in the early days when it was very limited. But things have changed quickly.
The Department of Energy (DOE)’s Vehicle Technologies Office noted this week that the number of long-range electric car models available in the US significantly increased in recent years.
The first model with an EPA range of 300 miles (483 km) of driving range entered the market several years ago, as a 2016 model year. Since then, a few more BEVs with 300+ miles of range were launched, while in the 2022 model year, we can see a real surge to 14 models.
That's three times higher than in 2021 and there is still a chance for more (although, at this point of the year, new EVs are usually launched as the next model year).
We are pretty sure that in the 2023 model year, we will see more than 20 BEVs with 300 miles of range (of course, in the top versions).
Light-Duty EV Models with Range of 300 Miles or Greater, MY 2016-2022
Another finding is that currently, seven manufacturers (OEMs) offer at least one model in a version with 300+ miles of EPA range.
2022 BEVs with at least 300 miles of range:
- BMW iX
- BMW i4
- Ford F-150 Lightning
- Ford Mustang Mach-E
- GMC Hummer EV
- Hyundai Ioniq 5
- Kia EV6
- Lucid Air
- Mercedes-Benz EQS
- Rivian R1S
- Rivian R1T
- Tesla Model S
- Tesla Model X
- Tesla Model 3
- Tesla Model Y
Some models, like the Tesla Model S, can go more than 400 miles according to the EPA, while the Lucid Air is absolutely matchless with 520 miles of range in the 2022 Lucid Air Dream Edition Range 19" version (516 miles in the case of the Grand Touring 19" version).
On the other side of the spectrum, we can see that most BEV models offer at least 200-250 miles of EPA range (see a comparison for February 2022 here), while the number of models with a range of below 200 miles is really low.
