Maps
Visualizing the Range of EVs on Major Highway Routes
The Range of EVs on Major Highway Routes
Between growing concerns around climate change, new commuting behaviors due to COVID-19, and imminent policy changes, the global transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is well under way.
By the year 2040, sales of electric vehicles are projected to account for 58% of new car sales, up from just 2.7% currently.
But switching from a gasoline car to an electric one is not seamless. With charging and range capacities to consider, and the supporting infrastructure still being slowly rolled out in many parts of the world, understanding the realities of EV transportation is vital.
Above, we highlight 2020 all-electric vehicle range on well-recognized routes, from California’s I-5 in the U.S. to the A2 autobahn in Germany. The data on estimated ranges and costs are drawn from the U.S. EPA as well as directly from manufacturer websites.
The EV Breakdown: Tesla is King of Range
For many consumers, the most important aspect of an electric vehicle is how far they can travel on a single charge.
Whether it’s for long commutes or out-of-city trips, vehicles must meet a minimum threshold to be considered practical for many households. As the table below shows, Tesla’s well-known EVs are far-and-away the best option for long range drivers.
| Vehicle | Range (miles) | Range (km) | MSRP | Cost per mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model S Long Range Plus | 402 | 647 | $74,990 | $186.54 |
| Tesla Model X Long Range Plus | 351 | 565 | $79,990 | $227.89 |
| Tesla Model S Performance | 348 | 560 | $94,990 | $272.96 |
| Tesla Model 3 Long Range | 322 | 518 | $46,990 | $145.93 |
| Tesla Model Y Long Range | 316 | 509 | $49,990 | $158.20 |
| Tesla Model X Performance | 305 | 491 | $99,990 | $327.84 |
| Tesla Model 3 LR Performance | 299 | 481 | $54,990 | $183.91 |
| Tesla Model Y Performance | 291 | 468 | $59,990 | $206.15 |
| Polestar 2 | 275 | 443 | $59,900 | $217.82 |
| Chevrolet Bolt EV | 259 | 417 | $36,620 | $141.39 |
| Hyundai Kona Electric | 258 | 415 | $37,190 | $144.15 |
| Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus | 250 | 402 | $37,990 | $151.96 |
| Kia Niro EV | 239 | 385 | $39,090 | $163.56 |
| Jaguar I-PACE | 234 | 377 | $69,850 | $298.50 |
| Nissan LEAF e+ S | 226 | 364 | $38,200 | $169.03 |
| Audi e-tron Sportback | 218 | 351 | $69,100 | $316.97 |
| Nissan LEAF e+ SV/SL | 215 | 346 | $39,750 | $184.88 |
| Audi e-tron | 204 | 328 | $65,900 | $323.04 |
| Porsche Taycan 4S Perf Battery Plus | 203 | 327 | $112,990 | $556.60 |
| Porsche Taycan Turbo | 201 | 323 | $153,510 | $763.73 |
| Porsche Taycan Turbo S | 192 | 309 | $187,610 | $977.14 |
| Hyundai IONIQ Electric | 170 | 274 | $33,045 | $194.38 |
| BMW i3 | 153 | 246 | $44,450 | $290.52 |
| Nissan LEAF | 149 | 240 | $31,600 | $212.08 |
| MINI Cooper SE | 110 | 177 | $29,900 | $271.82 |
| Fiat 500e | 84 | 135 | $33,460 | $398.33 |
In an industry where innovation and efficiency are vital, Tesla’s first-mover advantage is evident. From the more affordable Model 3 to the more luxurious Model S, the top eight EVs with the longest ranges are all Tesla vehicles.
At 402 miles (647 km), the range of the number one vehicle (the Tesla Model S Long Range Plus) got 127 miles more per charge than the top non-Tesla vehicle, the Polestar 2—an EV made by Volvo’s standalone performance brand.
Closer Competition in Cost
Though Tesla leads on overall range and battery capacity, accounting for the price of each vehicle shows that cost-efficiency is far more competitive among brands.
By dividing the retail price by the maximum range of each vehicle, we can paint a clearer picture of efficiency. Leading the pack is the Chevrolet Bolt, which had a cost of $141.39/mile of range in 2020 while still placing in the top 10 for range with 259 miles (417 km).
Just behind in second place was the Hyundai Kona electric at $144.15/mile of range, followed by the Tesla Model 3—the most efficient of the automaker’s current lineup. Rounding out the top 10 are the Nissan LEAF and Tesla Model S, but the difference from number one to number ten was minimal, at just over $45/mile.
| Top 10 All-Electric Vehicles by Cost Efficiency | |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | Cost per mile |
| Chevrolet Bolt EV | $141.39 |
| Hyundai Kona Electric | $144.15 |
| Tesla Model 3 Long Range | $145.93 |
| Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus | $151.96 |
| Tesla Model Y Long Range | $158.20 |
| Kia Niro EV | $163.56 |
| Nissan LEAF e+ S | $169.03 |
| Tesla Model 3 LR Performance | $183.91 |
| Nissan LEAF e+ SV/SL | $184.88 |
| Tesla Model S Long Range Plus | $186.54 |
Higher Ranges and Lower Costs on the Horizon
The most important thing to consider, however, is that the EV industry is entering a critical stage.
On one hand, the push for electrification and innovation in EVs has driven battery capacity higher and costs significantly lower. As batteries account for the bulk of weight, cost, and performance in EVs, those dividends will pay out in longer ranges and greater efficiencies with newer models.
Equally important is the strengthening global push for electric vehicle adoption. In countries like Norway, EVs are already among the best selling cars on the market, while adoption rates in China and the U.S. are steadily climbing. This is also being impacted by policy decisions, such as California’s recent announcement that it would be banning the sale of gasoline cars by 2035.
Meanwhile, the only thing outpacing the growing network of Tesla superchargers is the company’s rising stock price. Not content to sit on the sidelines, competing automakers are rapidly trying to catch up. Nissan’s LEAF is just behind the Tesla Model 3 as the world’s second-best-selling EV, and Audi recently rolled out a supercharger network that can charge its cars from 0% to 80% at a faster rate than Tesla.
As the tidal wave of electric vehicle demand and adoption continues to pick up steam, consumers can expect increasing innovation to drive up ranges, decrease costs, and open up options.
Correction: A previous version of this graphic showed a European route that was the incorrect distance.
History
Mapped: European Colonial Shipping Lanes (1700‒1850)
This map plots the colonial shipping lanes used by the British, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Creator Program
European Colonial Shipping Lanes (1700‒1850)
Every year, thousands of ships ferry passengers and transport goods across the world’s oceans and seas.
200 years ago, the ships navigating these waters looked very different. Explorers and traders sailed from coast to coast to expand colonial empires, find personal riches, or both.
Before modern technology simplified bookkeeping, many ships kept detailed logbooks to navigate, tracking the winds, waves, and any remarkable weather. Recently, these handwritten logbooks were fully digitized into the CLIWOC database as part of a UN-funded project by the University of Madrid.
In this graphic, Adam Symington uses this database to visualize the British, French, Spanish, and Dutch shipping routes between 1700 and 1850.
Colonial Shipping Lanes
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the British, French, Spanish, and Dutch empires dominated global trade through their colonial shipping lanes.
All four nations sailed across the Atlantic Ocean with some frequency over that timeframe, but these fleets were also very active in the Pacific and Indian Oceans as well.
The table below reflects the record of days spent by digitized logbooks from each nation.
| Country | N. Atlantic | S. Atlantic | Indian Ocean | Pacific | All Oceans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 28,635 | 11,812 | 620 | 1,703 | 42,770 |
| 🇬🇧 U.K. | 40,873 | 17,732 | 23,106 | 1,481 | 83,192 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 51,977 | 23,457 | 31,759 | 1,481 | 108,674 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 3,930 | 186 | 205 | 896 | 5,217 |
| Total | 125,415 | 53,187 | 55,690 | 5,561 | 239,853 |
Does this mean that the Netherlands had the widest colonial reach at the time? Not at all, as researchers noted that there were thousands of logbooks from each country that weren’t able to be digitized, and thousands more that were lost to time. The days simply reflect the amount of data that was available to examine from each country.
But they can still give us an accurate look at critical shipping routes between European countries, their trade partners, and their colonies and territories.
Let’s now take a closer look at the colonial powers and their preferred routes.
The British
The British shipping map shows a steady presence across the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. They utilized many of Europe’s ports for ease of trade, with strong pre-independence connections to the U.S., Canada, and India.
One of the most frequented shipping routes on the map seen is a triangular trade route that enabled the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This route facilitated the transportation of slaves from Africa to the Americas, raw materials such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton from the American colonies to Europe, and arms, textiles, and wine from Europe to the colonies.
The Spanish
During this period, Spanish maritime trade with its colonies was an essential economic component of the Kingdom of Spain (as with other colonial empires).
We can see the largest concentration of Spanish ships around Central and South America leading up to the Spanish American wars of independence, as those colonies were especially important suppliers of raw materials such as gold, silver, sugar, tobacco, and cotton. There are some lanes visible to Pacific colonies like the Philippines.
The French
Of the four empires, France’s maritime logbooks were the most sparse. The records that were digitized show frequent travel and trade across the North Atlantic Ocean to Canada and the Caribbean.
The French empire at the time included colonies in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and West Africa. Their trade routes were used to transport goods like sugar, coffee, rum, and spices, while also relying on the slave trade to maintain plantation economies. The French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) was one of the world’s wealthiest colonies in the late 18th century.
The Dutch
Dutch shipping routes from the time had the most detail and breadth of any country, reflective of the Dutch East India Trading Company’s position as the world’s dominant company and trade force.
These include massive traffic to the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Cape Colony (now South Africa), and the Guianas in South America.
Interestingly, researchers from Leiden University found that the Dutch empire was a “string of pearls” consisting mostly of strategic trading hubs stretched along the edges of the continents and focused on maritime power.
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