Bigger, stronger, faster

For decades, there was one main trend in cars: they were getting bigger and heavier. Today, the average car weighs around one and a half tons. This weight increase isn’t solely due to larger vehicle sizes; rising demands for comfort and stringent safety requirements also contribute to this trend.

This pattern holds true for electric cars as well. They are also getting bigger and heavier. Manufacturers are thus thwarting the trend towards greater sustainability. But customers obviously want it that way. There is also one issue that concerns the customer base: range. Drivers of electric cars who are concerned about the availability of charging stations simply want to better be safe than sorry and have a greater range with their cars. But that requires larger batteries. And these are heavy – and expensive.

Furthermore, another trend can be observed: Electric vehicles, especially battery electric vehicles (BEVs), usually have significantly more power than comparable combustion engines. On average almost 40 percent more. Supposedly on customer demand. Yet, the environmental benefits of e-cars are being questioned. Data analysts from automotive market researcher JATO Dynamics have therefore taken a look at the weight and performance development of the various drive systems and segments on the German market.

Electric vehicles are almost always heavier

• A vehicle in the A segment, i.e. a mini car with a combustion engine, weighs an average of just over one ton today. Even SUVs are only marginally heavier. In contrast, a SUV with a battery drive weighs 1,130 kg on average.
• In the B-segment of small cars, the differences are more pronounced: here, a small car with a combustion engine weighs just under 1,190 kg, while the average model with a mild hybrid drive weighs only 1,157 kg. In contrast, a BEV weighs almost 1.5 tons.
• A small car SUV with a combustion engine weighs an average of 1,325 kg, while the all-electric counterpart weighs almost 1,680 kg. An increase of more than 26 percent for the electric vehicles.

This trend persists across other segments – from compacts to the upper mid-range and luxury class. SUVs are always heavier than saloons. But above all, BEV models are always significantly heavier than combustion engines. The electric SUVs in the C-segment (large family cars) weigh an average of 30 percent more than their gasoline and diesel-powered counterparts. And an electric luxury-class SUV has an average unladen weight of more than two and a half tons. “The current range of BEV models in Germany weighs a good 20 percent more,” says Eric Haase, Managing Director of Jato Dynamics in Germany.

Significant power surplus for the BEVs

The disparity in engine power between BEVs and combustion engines is even more dramatic. On average, BEVs have more than 38 percent more powerful drives than their combustion engine counterparts. However, there are significant differences depending on the segment. SUVs in the B and C segments in particular have a significant increase in power. Models in the A segment still have more or less identical performance values with 90 hp each. But even in the B segment, the difference is already more than 28 percent for the saloons and almost 62 percent for the SUVs.

The average electric SUV in the small car segment has no less than 210 hp. Combustion engines make do with 130 hp. The electric “off-road vehicles” in the compact class even have almost 72 percent more power to offer. On average, they have 280 hp on the road, while combustion engines only have 163 hp. In the upper mid-range and luxury class, however, saloons once again dominate. In the D-segment, the figure is more than 70 percent.

And this extra power ensures that the generally higher weight of electric vehicles is hardly noticeable when it comes to driving performance. If you look at the power-to-weight ratio (kilograms per hp) by segment, BEVs theoretically have better acceleration and more torque. With the exception of subcompact cars and SUVs in the luxury class, battery-powered electric vehicles have the lower weight per hp in all segments – albeit to varying degrees.

Conclusion: We are currently in a downward spiral where customer demand for more range leads to heavier batteries. However, this also makes the car heavier overall and then puts pressure on the range again. “The only way out of this vicious circle is with a technological leap,” says Eric Haase. “In the future, we will need smaller and lighter batteries that still provide more range. Then perhaps the vehicles could finally be offered at more affordable prices.”

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