Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV): More Efficient Than Expected?

The increasing use of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) represents a strategic lever for decarbonizing the transport sector. Although BEVs are known to have lower average energy consumption than internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), the structural factors behind these differences are inherently different and merit a deeper analysis to quantify their relative contributions. This study presents a comparative analysis of BEV and ICEV energy performance based on simulation results under realistic driving conditions. The focus is placed on how energy consumption varies with vehicle mass, highlighting the different sensitivity between the two architectures. Additional factors such as rolling resistance and powertrain efficiency are also considered, as they strongly affect the slope of consumption with increasing mass. The results show that BEVs are significantly less affected by mass changes than ICEVs, due to their higher baseline efficiency and the possibility offered by the regenerative braking. Based on the simulation outcomes, this study suggests that a reference value of approximately 80 Wh/(t·km) may better reflect the energy consumption of modern battery electric vehicles under realistic driving conditions.