Tesla’s official website has updated the Model 3 Performance version’s range. The range has changed from NEDC (605 km) to CLTC (675 km), an increase of 70 km compared to the previous version. The standard range Model 3 still shows NEDC range.
According to the data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the new Model 3 Performance’s battery capacity has only increased by 1.6 kWh (from 76.8 kWh to 78.4 kWh), which has a relatively small impact on the range. The increase in displayed range is mainly due to the deviation caused by different testing conditions between NEDC and CLTC tests.
China’s Light-duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC) has a maximum test speed of 114 km/h and an average speed of 28.96 km/h, while NEDC has a maximum test speed of 120 km/h and an average speed of 33.6 km/h. The higher speed and average speed of NEDC led people to believe that the NEDC range is closer to the actual daily driving range.
However, the proportion of cruising condition duration in CLTC testing is much less than in NEDC, accounting for only 1.9\% of the total duration, while the cruising condition duration of NEDC accounts for 39.19\%. The main testing condition of CLTC is repeated acceleration and deceleration, which accounts for 74.77\% of the time, whereas the acceleration and deceleration condition of NEDC only accounts for 35.88\%. It can be seen that CLTC condition mainly simulates the driving environment on open urban roads, which is more friendly to the driving range of electric vehicles under such conditions.
However, the data of the testing condition can only be used as a reference, after all, the use of comfort type appliances such as air conditioning, heated seats, road conditions, and external environment will all affect the actual endurance. But due to the continuous advancement of the endurance mileage of CLTC, perhaps more manufacturers will start using CLTC testing condition data.
Source: Tesla official.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.