Battery Electric (400-Mile)

Explore key cost and performance metrics for 400-mile-range battery electric vehicles, including vehicle cost, fuel economy, levelized cost of driving, and emissions. Caveats for comparing powertrains are listed in the Light-Duty Vehicle Comparison page.

Fuel Economy

The chart below shows fuel economy, which depends on fuel type. Fuel economy is also used to calculate levelized cost of driving.

Vehicle Cost

The chart below shows vehicle cost, which is used to calculate levelized cost of driving.

Levelized Cost of Driving

This chart shows levelized cost of driving, a metric that combines vehicle cost, fuel economy, and other assumptions, for the selected fuel.

Notes:

• The levelized cost of driving includes initial costs for the vehicle, fuel costs, and, if applicable, residential charger equipment and installation. It does not include other operations or maintenance costs beyond fuel, or insurance.
• Changes over time are attributable only to projected vehicle cost and performance; the fuel cost and emissions are constant over time based on the selected fuel.

CO2e Emissions

The chart below shows CO₂ equivalent greenhouse gas emissions for the fuel well-to-wheels portion of the life cycle for the selected fuel. Emissions depend on fuel type and fuel economy. Emissions associated with vehicle life cycles are not included here.

Note: Changes over time are attributable only to projected vehicle cost and performance; the fuel cost and emissions are constant over time based on the selected fuel.

Key Assumptions

The data and estimates presented here are based on the following key assumptions:

• The cost and fuel economy trajectories are based on the analysis-year Autonomie modeling results from Islam et al. (Islam et al., 2020). The ATB Mid trajectory corresponds to the Base performance, Low technology progress case. The ATB Advanced trajectory corresponds to the Base performance, High technology progress case. The estimates from Islam et al. (Islam et al., 2020), and those shown here, represent costs and technology performance at high production volume. The ATB Constant trajectory is set to the 2020 values in the low-technology, high-cost case and held constant through 2050.
• The assumed battery cost trajectories can be found in the definition for battery electric vehicles.
• The Transportation ATB presents estimates for a representative, single size of light-duty vehicle (midsize); we do not account for variations in make, model, and trim or for pricing incentives or geographic heterogeneity that influence prices in the market. As a result, representative values shown here may differ from specific models available on the market.
• The assumptions about fuel economy improvements reflect adoption of lightweighting and engine efficiency technologies consistently across vehicle powertrains for a given trajectory. In the case of battery electric vehicles, fuel economy improvements also reflect lighter battery packs from increased energy density.
• The charge depleting fuel economy estimates in Islam et al. (Islam et al., 2020) are adjusted to account for battery charging efficiency losses, which are not accounted for in the Autonomie model. The Transportation ATB assumes 15% efficiency losses in 2020, which decreases exponentially to 12% in 2050, based on estimates reported in Elgowainy et al. (Elgowainy et al., 2016).
• The baseline fuel used for this powertrain in the levelized cost of driving and emissions estimates is the plug-in electric vehicle charging electricity with the national grid mix pathway. Additional selected fuel pathways can be displayed by choosing Lowest Cost or Lowest Emissions under Fuel Selection. Additional information about these and other fuels can be found on the Electricity page.
• The fuel price and emissions of the selected fuel pathways (e.g., Baseline, Lowest Cost, Lowest Emissions) are associated with a single year. Because we do not provide a time-series trajectory, here we show fuel price at a frozen level for all years so we can offer a range of fuel price values. In the levelized cost of driving and emissions charts, this approach clearly distinguishes effects of fuels from those of vehicle technologies, because fuels remain constant while vehicle technologies change over time.
• The charge-depleting fuel economy was converted to miles per gallon gasoline equivalent from watt-hours per mile, assuming 1 gge = 33,700 watt-hours (EPA, 2011).
• The vehicle range of 400 miles represents the adjusted real-world, on-road estimated driving range in all-electric (charge-depleting) mode. The range is based on 55% city and 45% highway driving, using the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule and Highway Fuel Economy Test drive cycles, respectively. Based on data from the National Household Travel Survey, 95% of U.S. vehicle trips are less than 31 miles (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2019).
• The Transportation ATB includes charger equipment and installation costs for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the levelized cost of driving calculation, based on the following assumptions: BEVs use 16% Level 1 chargers and 84% Level 2 chargers, and assume Level 1 costs of $0 and Level 2 costs of $1,836 (including equipment and installation), based on Borlaug et al. (Borlaug et al., 2020). An average charged cost of $1,542 is used.
• The data downloads include additional detail on assumptions and calculations for each metric.

Definitions

For detailed definitions, see:

Battery electric vehicles

Emissions

Fuel economy

Levelized cost of driving

Scenarios

Vehicle cost

References

The following references are specific to this page; for all references in this ATB, see References.