Electric motors do not produce any waste heat. This can be uncomfortable in traffic jams. But the batteries heat up longer than many feared, as the ADAC wants to have found out.
Electric cars are sensitive to the cold. Nevertheless, in freezing temperatures, your battery does not fail even after several hours in a traffic jam, as an ADAC test has shown. Heating, seat heating and radio can also be used largely without hesitation. According to the club, worries about a cold breakdown are unfounded.
The testers had tested a Renault Zoe and a VW E-Up at temperatures down to minus 14 degrees for twelve hours for their resistance. The interior was heated to 22 degrees, the seat heating activated and the parking lights switched on. After the test, around 70 percent of the 52 kWh battery in the Renault Zoe and around 80 percent of the 32 kWh battery in the VW E-Up were used up.
The all-clear only for vehicles with a well-filled battery. If the energy storage device is already largely empty at the beginning of the jam, the remaining operating time should be significantly reduced. The club therefore recommends recharging an almost empty battery shortly before entering a motorway. It should be noted that the range at sub-zero temperatures is generally less than in moderate weather. Because cold slows down the electrochemical processes inside and also increases the internal resistance of the cells. Charging can also take longer as a result.