Tesla, Kia electric vehicle range claims to be unable to stick to in standalone tests

Independent testing found that in the real world, several popular electric vehicles have no claimed driving range when including the Tesla Model Y, Model 3 and Kia EV6. Among the worst differences, a car’s range was reduced by 23%.

The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) real-world testing program has released results for its range and energy consumption tests on five electric vehicles, the first evaluation of fully electric vehicles since its launch. Unfortunately, all five electric vehicles are underperforming in the real world compared to their prescribed lab results, including three popular models available in the United States: the 2024 Tesla Model 3, the 2024 Tesla Model Y, and the 2022 KIA EV6.

The Tesla Model 3 had the worst results in range, managing only 441 kilometers (274 million), while the laboratory result was 513 kilometers (318.8mi), a 14% decrease. The Y model also did not reach its 533km (331.2mi) lab range, reducing speed by 8% on 490km (304.5MI). The Kia EV6 performed less than 8%, driving 484 kilometers (300.7mi) in AAA’s tests, rather than the expected 528 kilometers (328.1mi).

AAA further tested the 2023 BYD ATTO 3 and 2024 SMART #3, and found that the latter performed the closest range to its ads in all tested electric vehicles. Specifically, Smart #3 has a real-world range of 432 km (268.4mi), 5% lower than its claimed 455 km (282.7mi) laboratory results. In contrast, the ATTO 3 shows the biggest difference between the five cars tested, with a real-world range of 369 kilometers (229.3 miles), 23% lower than its 480 kilometers laboratory range (298.3mi). Although there are currently no vehicles in the United States, the ATTO 3 is Australia’s fifth best-selling electric vehicle.

Fortunately, this is not all bad news when it comes to the energy consumption of electric vehicles in five fields. The Tesla Model Y actually performed slightly better than its lab results, and consumed 1% less energy at 167Wh/km instead of 169Wh/km. Sadly, the other four cars failed to impress, each surpassing the energy use in their lab tests. Compared to lab results, Kia EV6 has 1% more energy, Tesla Model 3 uses 6% and Smart #3 uses 4%. Shockingly, ATTO 3 consumes 21% higher energy than expected, and the results are poorer when considering its lower range of 23%.

Mashable has contacted Tesla, Kia, Byd and Smart for comment.

The AAA noted that it plans to test the car on a 93km (57.8mi) circuit in Geelong, Victoria between March and May, under wet and dry conditions and temperature ranges from 17 to 25C (62 to 77F).

“[The Real-World Testing Program] “Use strict testing protocols based on European regulations to ensure results are repeatable and minimize the impact of human factors such as driving style and changing traffic flows,” the AAA said.

Funded by the Australian government, AAA’s real-world testing program was first proposed after the 2015 Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal. It was subsequently launched in 2023 with the intention of testing 200 cars within four years and being evaluated based on its claims. Since testing, among the 114 internal combustion engines and hybrid vehicles, one-fifth of the emission limit exceeds harmful emission limits compared to laboratory tests, while 75% of the emission limit exceeds fuel consumption.