What Should an EV MPG Rating Look Like?

October 6, 2009 in Consumer News, EVs, MPG, emissions by kristen | 2 comments

The Environmental Protection Agency has been working diligently on a new system to rate the fuel efficiency of alternative-fuel vehicles. It’s turned out to be tricky, as the dust-up over GM’s claims of 230 mpg for the Chevy Volt and Nissan’s follow-up claims of 367 mpg for its electric leaf showed up this summer.

While the EPA is working this out, the New York Times “Wheels” blog asked a few folks in the know what they thought the fuel economy rating should look like on the window sticker. A few of their suggestions are below; what would you the potential alt-fuel buyer like to see? Tell us in the comments.

  • ETV Motors of Israel wants three pieces of information: the all-electric range, the electric efficiency in miles per 10 kW hours, and gasoline fuel efficiency for plug-in hybrids
  • Think! of Norway wants to measure energy usage during a standard driving cycle, maybe with a star rating
  • Coda Automotive prefers to see the battery range and a statement about the car’s emissions-free status

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  1. David’s avatar

    David on October 7, 2009 at 11:38 am

    I think distance/energy unit is flawed since there are two energy sources now: gas/diesel and electricity. It would be easier to start with energy/distance and then provide a chart – similar to how they simplify MPG now with city/highway.

    For instance, energy/100 Miles might look like this:

    city: 1 Kw + .75 Gal (more electricity)
    highway: .5 Kw + 1.5 Gal (more gas)

    It’s up to the reader to determine how they would drive the vehicle.

  2. japanese engines’s avatar

    japanese engines on November 16, 2009 at 4:08 am

    To say 230mpg just confuses consumers who don’t know any better. There should be two numbers for REEVs (or EREVs):

    - all electric range
    - mpg in charge sustaining mode

    I think the appropriate response is ridicule. GM and the EPA should be shamed into using more honest metrics. Wish the MSM had a basic understanding of this stuff.