Charging your electric car might be costing you more power—and money—than you realize.
A surprising amount of electricity is lost during the charging process, and some models are much worse than others, according to a new study by the German automobile group ADAC.
Testing over 90 electric cars currently on the market, ADAC found that, on average, 14.5% of the electricity used at charging stations never even makes it to the car’s batteries.
That's energy—and cash—disappearing into thin air.
The worst offender?
The Mini Cooper SE, which wasted a shocking 30.1% of its charge. The Volvo XC40 wasn’t far behind, losing about 20% during charging. Other notable energy guzzlers include the Dacia Spring, Mustang Mach-E, Nissan Leaf, MG 4, and Xpeng G9.
Not all electric cars are culprits of massive power waste, though.
Volkswagen ID. models fared much better, with energy losses hovering around just 8%. The best performer in the test was the Aiways U6 Prime, but with the company currently pausing production in China, getting your hands on one might be tough.
So, what’s causing all this energy loss?
It all comes down to the need to convert alternating current (AC) from the charging station into direct current (DC) to store in the car's batteries. That conversion process is where a big chunk of the power goes to waste.
ADAC suggests that electric car owners factor this hidden energy loss into their calculations when figuring out how far their car can truly go on a single charge.
