I felt the automobile tires lose grip on the floor of the frozen lake and my automobile begin to spin out. I knew I’d pushed it too far. Despite the recommendation I’d been given, I entered the nook too quick and hit the brakes too late. I believed I had the driving expertise to carry the slide I used to be now in, however physics had different concepts. Instead of my deliberate easy drift throughout the ice, the automobile went right into a full 360-degree spin that despatched me off the observe and right into a deep snow ditch. Thankfully, the powdery snow that cushioned my crash meant I used to be unharmed — as was the Volvo EX30 Cross Country I used to be testing. My location was a frozen lake about two hours outdoors of the northern Swedish metropolis of Lulea. Volvo had invited me to place its new automobile to the check in a number of the most demanding climate situations for any automobile. It sounded thrilling and, in fact, nice enjoyable, however it gave me a possibility to show to myself one thing basic about electrical automobiles: The miles of frozen roads and icebound lakes I drove throughout confirmed that EVs aren’t simply usable in winter — they’ll thrive in harsh, chilly situations. The days of EVs being a uncommon sight on our roads are lengthy gone. It’s estimated that in 2024, greater than 1.2 million EVs have been offered within the US, a big improve from the 326,000 estimated to have been offered in 2019, and gross sales surged once more in 2025, forward of federal incentives being phased out. Electric automobiles have confirmed that they don’t seem to be only a novelty pushed by Ed Begley Jr. — they’re absolutely fledged autos in their very own proper, providing satisfying, dependable, zero-emission driving for hundreds of thousands of individuals in all situations the world over. But misconceptions stay round EV driving, particularly in colder climate. A easy Google search on the subject will deliver up a wide range of US information stories on “stranded EV drivers in the snow,” articles about EV drivers “wrestling with the cold,” varied YouTube movies, and Reddit and Quora threads — typically that includes inaccurate or deceptive info — all primarily telling potential EV house owners that in the event that they need to drive in colder months, they’re higher off shopping for a gas-powered automobile. When I instructed a buddy of mine I used to be going to the Arctic to drive EVs, their response was: “Do they even work in the cold?” The reply, essentially, is sure. And whereas misconceptions round EVs aren’t prone to ever go away fully, these unsure about an EV’s potential to deal with decrease temperatures want solely look towards Norway. Despite the nation’s excessive winter temperatures, electrical autos accounted for nearly 90% of all new automobiles offered in Norway in 2024, and in November 2025 that quantity reached 97%. “Electric vehicles are getting better all the time,” Maria Cecilia Pinto de Moura, a scientist within the Clean Transportation program on the Union of Concerned Scientists, tells me, “with new battery technology bringing down the cost of a new EV and increasing their range.” The actuality is that every one automobiles battle extra within the winter, whether or not they’re powered by electrical energy or gasoline. Colder temperatures make any automobile much less environment friendly, whereas icy roads scale back friction, growing the opportunity of accidents. It’s particularly problematic for folks dwelling in rural areas, who sometimes depend on their autos for longer routes, typically throughout tougher roads than city customers would face. And whereas EV drivers can expertise extra challenges than these driving gas-powered autos — most notably, lesser availability of public charging stations — driving EVs in powerful winter situations is completely manageable. To learn how EVs can thrive within the chilly, I journeyed to Volvo’s house nation of Sweden earlier this 12 months to get behind the wheel of its newest EVs and see how they deal with snowbound roads and freezing situations and learn how EV house owners may help their automobiles go additional within the chilly. The Volvo EX30 Cross Country reveals off on a frozen lake. Andrew Lanxon/CNET Electric automobiles vs. gasoline automobiles Despite the distinction in energy supply, in some ways EVs do not differ that a lot from inside combustion engine automobiles when pushed on the highway. In some respects, EVs can truly be safer. The battery packs sometimes make EVs a lot heavier, which might improve braking time however can even lead to higher traction in slippery situations. Most electrical autos from all manufacturers — together with Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Tesla, Volvo, VW and an growing variety of others — have their batteries positioned low down within the chassis. This leads to a extra even weight distribution and a decrease middle of gravity, giving a planted stance on the highway and offering improved grip on all wheels. Then there are the electrical motors powering the automobiles, which offer immediate torque to the wheels, permitting for smoother acceleration with out lack of traction. Many EVs even have twin motors, powering the entrance and rear wheels independently, once more growing total traction in poor situations. Volvo/Treatment by Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETStill, I did really feel barely nervous the primary time I took the wheel of Volvo’s EX90 in northern Sweden and headed out on a two-hour cross-country drive. The winding roads have been flanked by enormous snow drifts, highway junction markings have been invisible beneath the deeply packed snow and at one notably odd-feeling second after I glanced on the sat-nav, I noticed I used to be driving straight throughout the center of an unlimited, frozen lake, which evidently simply turns into a highway throughout winter. But I needn’t have nervous: Driving the automobile in these situations felt not simply secure, it felt… common. Almost boring. The grip from the moment torque and twin motor drive was noticeable each time I pulled out at a junction, whereas the planted nature of the automobile from its whopping 2,800kg (6,200 pound) weight meant I by no means felt it was shedding grip within the corners. It made the journey really feel as satisfying as some other and I did not even really feel like I wanted to make many explicit allowances for the snow, past preserving my pace in examine. “We are still learning how battery electric vehicles are to be optimized for different temperatures, including cold climates.”
Karin Almqvist, Volvo’s head of propulsion and vitality
On one event, my co-driver needed to brake laborious after we got here up on some reindeer mendacity down within the highway. He braked laborious, the automobile slowed and the reindeer merely acquired up and wandered off. No drama, no skidding off the highway, no hard-to-explain reindeer-shaped dents within the automobile. Things modified after I arrived on the frozen lake the place Volvo had carved a racetrack into the thick ice to permit us to check the automobiles off highway. Here, the purpose wasn’t a lot to really feel how regular it’s to drive EVs in winter however to push the boundaries of the autos and, fairly frankly, to have some enjoyable making an attempt to make them go sideways. And it was enjoyable; I’ve pushed efficiency automobiles on common tracks earlier than when my intention always has been to attempt to keep away from going right into a slide and spinning into the limitations. But out on the ice, sliding turned my purpose. I cherished the texture of powering right into a nook, giving the steering wheel a fast flick and feeling the automobile’s rear wheels lose grip, placing me right into a slide and making an attempt to carry it in an suave drift across the nook, excitedly feeling as if I’m channeling the spirit of the late, nice Ken Block. Sometimes I managed it — regardless of the automobile’s varied traction management techniques combating to regain management — whereas different occasions I misplaced management completely and plowed harmlessly into the snow in conjunction with the observe. It’s the kind of “controlled recklessness” I’ve by no means completed in a automobile earlier than, as a result of it might have been unlawful, harmful or each. But on this closed observe in secure situations, all bets have been off. Even so, I discovered it exceptional how a lot management I did nonetheless have on the ice, particularly after I wasn’t driving like I had a loss of life want. At regular speeds, the automobile would go across the observe with as a lot sideways razzle-dazzle as you’d need when driving your grandma to a bake sale. It did not spin its wheels when accelerating from a cease and the brakes labored precisely as I’d count on them to. In northern Sweden, winter will be chilly and comfy on the identical time. Andrew Lanxon/CNET Winter driving It’s vital to notice that the automobiles we have been driving — the Volvo EX90 and EX30 Cross Country — have been fitted with studded winter tires, which do make all of the distinction in these situations. Having pushed snowbound roads with out winter tires, I do know simply how terrifying it may be. In 2019 I took the VW Golf R (a gas-powered automobile) on a highway journey from Geneva, Switzerland, throughout continental Europe and again house to London. It was a mammoth journey and, whereas a lot of the route encompassed blissful miles of curving tarmac, I made an enormous error in taking a high-altitude mountain cross. While the mountain highway info boards confirmed that many routes have been closed, the Julier Pass that I wanted was marked as open. So I pointed my automobile firmly upward and loved the dynamic curves of the highway and the more and more spectacular views as I climbed increased up the cross. But as my altitude elevated, so too did the quantity of snow on and to the aspect of the highway. Sure, I slowed my pace proper all the way down to accommodate the dearth of traction however I felt comfy that the four-wheel drive of the Golf could be sufficient to see me up and over. I rapidly realized how incorrect I used to be as I gently examined the brakes and located them to be successfully ineffective — as was the steering. Panic started to take over as I noticed I had little management over the automobile and each nook I got here to turned a much bigger problem to get the automobile round. At this level I made the choice to take off my seatbelt and hold one hand prepared to tug on the door deal with. So satisfied was I that the following bend would ship the automobile sliding off the sting of the mountain, I used to be getting ready to bail out, letting the automobile (and my baggage) go over the aspect, whereas I hopefully stood an opportunity of leaping to security. These skeletal rigs in Volvo’s testing facility enable the entire automobile techniques – from the batteries to the AC unit and infotainment array – to be arrange as in an actual automobile and examined collectively. Andrew Lanxon/CNETWhen that bend arrived, I truly managed to slip the automobile right into a conveniently positioned snow drift, stopping the automobile with little greater than a mild bump. I used to be then in a position to flip round and head again down, discovering a close-by lodge to relaxation for the night and have a beer to settle my nerves. This was an enormous studying expertise for me in winter driving with any automobile. First, I hadn’t checked what tires have been on the automobile and, because it seems, they weren’t appropriate for snowy situations. Second, I wrongly assumed that the mountain highway being marked as “open” meant it was truly secure for any automobile to cross. It actually solely signifies that it hasn’t been closed with limitations so you continue to must train much more sense in driving it in off-road succesful autos with right winter tires, studs or snow chains fitted. It was a lesson I remembered solely too clearly after I drove the Lotus Eletre EV a largely blissful 4,000 miles to and from Barcelona final 12 months. After a cease in a reasonably rural charging station in northern Spain, I took a route that wound its approach first by way of forests earlier than beginning to climb increased into the hills. While this highway wasn’t thought-about a “mountain pass” just like the one I’d beforehand pushed, the short buildup of recent snow on the highway began to ring all-too-familiar alarm bells with me and I made the choice to show again and plan an alternate route. The downside I confronted this time, nevertheless, was that I used to be in an EV, not a gas-powered automobile and I’d calculated the space to my subsequent charging level primarily based on taking this route. Doubling again and discovering a distinct route meant including a whole lot of further distance to my journey, leaving me immediately affected by the dreaded curse of vary nervousness. EV vary within the chilly An EV’s vary is among the greatest components folks contemplate when selecting their automobile, and it is comprehensible that somebody could be involved about their battery life dropping when the temperatures are low. After all, you do not need to be caught out in the midst of nowhere as a result of your automobile was immediately unable to drive the identical route you probably did in the summertime. A 2024 survey by the Canadian Automobile Association indicated that greater than two-thirds of Canadians discover the drop in vary within the winter to be the most important concern for EVs. It’s true that batteries do not carry out as properly in decrease temperatures. The chilly causes the electrolyte fluid present in lithium-ion batteries (those most frequently utilized in EVs) to thicken, which slows down the speed at which the lithium ions can transfer between the anode and the cathode. These testing chambers for EV batteries will be chilled to minus 30 levels Celsius or warmed as much as 70 levels Celsius (minus 20 to 158 levels Fahrenheit), with various levels of humidity. Andrew Lanxon/CNETJargon apart, what that merely means is that, when chilly, batteries aren’t in a position to maintain as a lot cost as they in any other case would. Studies have proven that EVs can lose as much as 25% of their most vary in freezing situations. It’s not simply vary that is impacted; an inefficient battery additionally will not cost as rapidly, so chances are you’ll must spend longer at outside public charging factors. But earlier than you cancel your Polestar 3 order, let’s add some context on the aspect of EVs. While it’s true that EVs can lose as much as 25% of their vary within the chilly, some research present that gas-powered automobiles can equally be as much as 20% much less gasoline environment friendly in the identical situations than they’d be when it is heat. What electrical motors and the extra acquainted inside combustion engines have in widespread is that they each carry out worst when ranging from chilly; batteries are inefficient when chilly and so are the inner workings — and fluids — of an inside combustion engine. Once they get warmed up, total effectivity improves. That’s sometimes a better activity for a combustion engine automobile, because the engine itself generates a whole lot of warmth whereas in use, offering an successfully free warmth supply to flow into into the cabin, preserving the motive force heat on chilly days. An EV’s electrical motors produce little warmth naturally, so the conditioning of the batteries and the heating of the cabin needs to be completed artificially, utilizing electrical heaters powered by the automobile’s batteries. It could be a vital drain on accessible vary. There are easy options right here. Most EVs mean you can activate the heating techniques forward of your journey, typically from the consolation of your heat sofa utilizing an app in your telephone. This course of, referred to as preconditioning, warms the automobile up whereas it is nonetheless plugged in, taking the vitality from the grid and guaranteeing your automobile nonetheless has its most vary accessible if you get inside. With a prewarmed cabin, many drivers could solely want to make use of the heated seat operate to remain heat, preserving the battery-draining inside heaters turned off. Parking your automobile in an indoor, heated storage will go an extended solution to guaranteeing your EV is all the time able to go, although this is not an possibility for a lot of. For those that should park their automobiles outside, merely eradicating snow buildup or utilizing a protecting cowl when it is parked for longer intervals may help pace up the conditioning course of. But EV expertise is evolving rapidly. Regenerative braking, for instance, is commonplace on virtually all EVs; take your foot off the accelerator and the automobile will decelerate, primarily turning the electrical motors into turbines that seize vitality to place again into the batteries. Some estimates counsel regenerative braking can add as a lot as 20% again into an EV’s vary, whereas additionally having the advantage of saving put on and tear on the automobile’s brakes.
I Drove EVs within the Arctic to See How Good They Really Are within the Cold
See all images Many newer EVs are actually additionally fitted with warmth pumps, both commonplace or as non-obligatory extras. Much just like the more and more widespread warmth pumps fitted in homes or places of work, warmth pumps in an EV work to maneuver the warmth round from the batteries to the cabin and again utilizing a lot much less vitality than a typical electrical heater. A warmth pump will be important in preserving an EV and its batteries working optimally, so it is completely price choosing this feature when you’re speccing up your subsequent electrical automobile and are involved about winter efficiency. And the batteries themselves proceed to be optimized for greatest efficiency in all situations. I used to be invited into the center of Volvo’s battery testing facility at its headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, the place I noticed row upon row of what regarded like gigantic walk-in ovens. These testing chambers enable stacks of battery cells to have their energy cycled at temperatures starting from minus 30 to 70 levels Celsius (minus 20 to 158 levels Fahrenheit), with various levels of humidity. The battery cells are plugged in and drained and recharged in a approach that simulates real-life use and permits Volvo’s groups of engineers to raised perceive how temperature impacts battery efficiency, easy methods to optimize it for various situations and easy methods to enhance total battery longevity, it doesn’t matter what nation or season you are driving in. While Volvo is just not the one automobile producer to have these services, its place in a rustic that sometimes sees each excessive chilly (minus 20 Celsius/minus 4 Fahrenheit) and sizzling (above 30 Celsius/86 Fahrenheit) temperatures provides it a pure benefit in creating EVs that may flourish, irrespective of the place the mercury sits. “We are still learning how battery electric vehicles are to be optimized for different temperatures, including cold climates,” says Karin Almqvist, Volvo’s head of propulsion and vitality. “Living and developing cars in a country that has extreme subzero temperatures does give us a particular advantage, though, and we have a great history to build from with a lot of knowledge.” Driving on the frozen lake is about pushing the boundaries of the autos and, fairly frankly, to have some enjoyable making an attempt to make them go sideways. Andrew Lanxon/CNET When charging stations are scarce While an EV’s vary could also be one of many first belongings you’d contemplate when deciding which automobile to purchase wherever you reside, for rural drivers, longer vary is much more vital. A driver’s house could also be additional away from shops, colleges, relations or locations of labor, so particular person journeys are sometimes longer versus these of city drivers. Public transit techniques are prone to be tougher to make use of, in the event that they’re accessible in any respect, which means house owners depend on their autos greater than city drivers. Then there’s the terrain itself, which might typically be more difficult than driving on city roads. Steeper hills, winding roads and being usually extra uncovered to inclement climate means many rural routes are much less environment friendly for all automobiles to drive on. Couple that with the commonly poorer availability of charging stations outdoors of city zones and it is comprehensible why the speed of EV adoption is 40% decrease in rural versus city areas of the US. The result’s that lengthy vary from a automobile turns into much more vital for rural drivers and as such, the impression of chilly climate can play a extra vital position. But even right here, EV drivers can thrive. In 2024, Pinto de Moura, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, interviewed 4 EV house owners dwelling and driving in rural areas with harsh winters, together with Alaska, Michigan and Virginia, and located that regardless of the difficult surroundings, all drivers “were totally at ease driving EVs in all kinds of weather, even in extreme cold weather, such as in Alaskan winters.” But Pinto de Moura did discover that the drivers acknowledged that availability of public charging stations in rural areas will be problematic. For some, longer journeys within the chilly weren’t not possible however required extra cautious planning to keep away from vary nervousness. This helps the findings from a 2024 survey by Plug In America that discovered that almost all of EV drivers in chilly climate states have been assured about taking long-distance drives however they acknowledged that further steps could also be required. “Range is clearly a main concern in winter driving,” Pinto de Moura tells me. “Given the characteristics of rural driving, it makes sense that range anxiety is more of an issue here.” Still, the common vary of all electrical autos has greater than tripled previously 10 years, with some fashions right now — such because the Lucid Air — providing ranges of greater than 500 miles between costs. It’s an enormous departure from the measly 84 miles of vary supplied by the 2014 Nissan Leaf, and even that quantity may very well be troublesome to attain out on the open highway. And as new battery expertise arrives, the usable vary per cost is about to extend additional. Solid state batteries are extra vitality dense than typical lithium-ion batteries, promising each longer driving vary and sooner charging speeds. Some firms — like China’s Dongfeng — are suggesting that strong state-based EVs may supply properly over 600 miles per cost, with 280 miles of vary being added again in from solely 5 minutes of charging. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, strong state cells do not include fluid, which theoretically will even make them much less impacted by chilly climate and subsequently lowering the quantity of potential vary loss throughout winter climate. I say “theoretically” as there aren’t but any absolutely strong state EVs on sale, and that will not change till at the least 2026 and even then possible solely in China. Solid state EVs aren’t anticipated to hit the US till 2028 or later. The science is sound, bit we do not but have information on how this new expertise will carry out in real-world situations. The greatest consider serving to EVs thrive within the winter stays with the motive force. It’s not simply the common vary of batteries that is growing, both; the variety of public charging factors has skyrocketed lately. In August 2024, the Federal Highway Authority acknowledged that the variety of public charging factors throughout the US had doubled within the earlier three years, with about 190,000 accessible on the time the report was revealed. In 2015, I needed to expertise rural EV driving myself within the UK. While public chargers have been slowly being launched in a handful of city places, with just a few extra scattered alongside a number of the busier highways, driving out into the countryside was one other matter completely. It was estimated that in 2015, the UK had solely about 2,200 public EV charging factors — a quantity that grew to greater than 73,000 on the finish of 2024. The Nissan Leaf I took on my journey had a theoretical vary of about 100 miles — though the sensible vary was nearer to 70 — which meant my 500-mile spherical journey would require quite a few charging stops. Finding chargers in any respect was a problem and discovering quick ones much more so. One of my early stops was at a Nissan dealership — the one charging level in the complete space at the moment — which did not open for greater than an hour after I used to be resulting from arrive, forcing me to make an extra cease beforehand. Later, I’d deliberate to go to a lodge that marketed its EV charging level, which turned out to be little greater than an extension lead screwed to a fence. Which did not even work. On my return journey, issues acquired worse. I arrived at my fastidiously deliberate charging level with only some miles within the “tank” to seek out that the only EV charger at an enormous gasoline station was out of order and no one was choosing up the telephone on the helpline quantity (“nothing to do with us, pal,” I used to be instructed by the employees contained in the gasoline station). In the top I needed to load the automobile onto a truck to take it to a working cost level. It was a farce. Volvo/Treatment by Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNET What drivers must know Cut to 2023, after I drove hundreds of miles throughout the UK and Europe within the VW ID5. The automobile’s 300-plus miles of quoted vary together with the plethora of obtainable quick chargers — particularly on France’s highways — meant that this long-distance journey was an absolute anxiety-free breeze. Never have I been extra satisfied concerning the feasibility of doing lengthy journeys on electrical energy alone. My time with Volvo in frozen Sweden confirmed me that driving EVs in winter situations needn’t be any more difficult than driving gas-powered automobiles. In truth, driving its electrical automobiles on public roads and frozen lake race tracks proved to me that EVs can really feel secure and satisfying even in a number of the most troublesome situations it is doable to drive any automobile. Range — and its potential discount within the chilly — stays the most important problem EVs face when temperatures plummet, however even that is rapidly changing into a nonissue due to longer ranges on newer EVs, battery and heating optimizations and a rise within the availability of public chargers. But the most important consider serving to EVs thrive within the winter stays with the motive force. Taking some primary further steps equivalent to becoming acceptable tires for added grip, preheating the automobile whereas it is plugged in to keep away from pointless drains on the battery and planning routes on longer journeys extra fastidiously will assist take the nervousness out of winter driving. The indisputable fact that the overwhelming majority of recent automobiles offered in Norway are EVs is maybe one of the best real-world proof that snow, ice and chilly temperatures aren’t any match for these autos — or the folks driving them. With a bit of additional planning, your EV can deal with your journeys within the winter simply in addition to it’s going to in the summertime. Editors’ word: Travel prices associated to elements of this story have been lined by the producer, which is widespread within the auto trade. The judgments and opinions of CNET’s employees are our personal.Senior Motion Designer | Jeffrey HazelwoodArtistic Director | Viva TungVideo Editors | JD Christison, Owen PooleVideo Producer and Host | Andrew LanxonVideo Executive Producer | Dillon PayneProject Manager | Danielle RamirezDirector of Content | Jonathan SkillingsStory Editor | Corinne Reichert
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