Median All-Electric Car Range In US Has Grown From 73 Miles (2011) To 114 Miles (2017)

December 25th, 2017 by James Ayre

The median range for an all-electric car in the US has nearly doubled over the last 6 years or so, according to data from the US Department of Energy (FuelEconomy.gov).

To be more exact, going on that data, the median range rating for an all-electric plug-in vehicle sold in the US has grown from 73 miles per full charge (with regard to model year 2011) to 114 miles per full charge (with regard to model year 2017) as of the end of this year.

Here’s a nice graph to illustrate the matter:

And here’s more information on the subject (via the Department of Energy’s “Fact of the Day” service): “In model year 2011, there were just 3 different models of all-electric vehicles (AEV) available and their ranges on a full charge (according to the Environmental Protection Agency) spanned from 63 to 94 miles. By model year 2017, the number of AEV models increased to 15 and the available ranges expanded as well, from a minimum of 58 miles for the smart fortwo Electric Drive Coupe to a maximum of 335 miles for the Tesla Model S 100D. From 2011 to 2017, the median of the AEV ranges increased by 41 miles — from 73 to 114 miles.”

Overall, that’s a fairly steep increase in median range … a trend that will presumably continue over the coming decade or so as electric vehicle battery cell and pack technologies continue dropping in pricing.

The potential for solid-state batteries to become commercially viable is also a real one, so it’s worth keeping an eye on that — commercialization of that tech could likely lead to a rapid increase in median prices.











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