Why Are Electric Cars Not Ideal For Towing Vehicles?

Electric vehicles are gaining popularity on the road slowly but steadily as more automakers choose to go green. Global sales of electric vehicles exceeded 2.1 million in 2018, according to a 2019 study. This is a 60% increase over the prior year. By 2020, electric vehicles will be more affordable, easier to drive, more powerful, and have a greater range than gasoline-powered vehicles. While the impact of EVs is undeniable, they are not inferior to gasoline- and diesel-powered competitors when it comes to towing. Today, we'll look at why electric vehicles aren't nearly ready to take over as the primary towing vehicle on the road. Continue reading to discover the fundamental reason why electric vehicles are not more capable of towing large loads over long distances.

What Is Holding Back Electric Vehicles?

As mentioned in the outset of this piece, batteries have increased in size and capacity throughout time. Not only is Tesla's X model one of the first electric vehicles to include a 5000-pound towing capacity, but it also features a 100-kWh battery pack with a range of 328 miles between charges.

This is true, however, only for daily driving scenarios where battery use is reasonably predictable. By increasing the weight in the computations, the distance can be significantly reduced. Distance is computed in layman's terms by multiplying the amount of energy necessary to power the moving vehicle by the distance traveled. When you factor in the added weight of the automobile towing the trailer, the increased drag coefficient of the trailer, and gravity, reaching the same distance requires significantly more energy.