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Every now and then, an exciting email pitch reaches my personal inbox. Recently, I was delighted to receive one from The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. It referred to its encouraging and important news on EV research. The press release was titled: Study: Greater efficiency can reduce the cost of an electric vehicle by $5,000. The press release also mentions the Hummer EV as an example of an inefficient electric vehicle. Before I get to the Q&A section of this post below, a few points need to be addressed.

Electric vehicles are far more energy efficient than gasoline cars. In fact Yale Climate Connections published a exciting article It stated: “Today’s gasoline-powered cars and trucks waste about 80% of the energy pumped into their gas tanks.” Let that sink in for a moment.

Despite this simple and profound fact, there are some electric vehicles that could be more energy efficient, such as the Hummer EV. Don’t be fooled, while the Hummer EV is not a very energy efficient electric vehicle, it is still far more efficient than a gasoline-powered H1 or H2, which average about 10 miles per gallon. The Hummer EV’s combined miles-per-gallon equivalent (MPGe) is FuelEconomy.gov. So that’s several times better than a gasoline-powered H1 or H2. This fact is worth mentioning because some online trolls and EV critics, in a fit of whataboutism, might try to label the Hummer EV as an example of a bloated, oversized EV. Well, among EVs, that may be so, and yet, like all EVs, it is far better than its gasoline siblings.

Let us now turn to the encouraging and important research from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

Peter Huether, lead author of the EV efficiency paper and senior transportation research fellow at ACEEE, answered some questions about research for CleanTechnica.

If average electric vehicles are as efficient as their higher-performance competitors, the initial cost of an electric vehicle can be reduced by nearly $5,000 and charging costs can be cut by nearly a third. How is this possible?

More efficient electric vehicles require smaller batteries to achieve the same range. Since batteries make up a large part of the cost of an electric vehicle, reducing their size can reduce the initial cost. More efficient electric vehicles, by definition, require less electricity to travel the same distance. In this way, they reduce fuel costs. Fuel costs are a 1:1 ratio, so a 10 percent reduction in electricity consumption per mile means a 10 percent reduction in fuel costs per mile.

What is an average electric vehicle?

It depends on what is being sold, but the two best-selling electric vehicles (which account for a very large market share) are the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, which have efficiencies of around 3.4 and 3.9 mi/kWh respectively. They tend to be more efficient than other best-selling electric vehicles.

A 40% more efficient electric vehicle would significantly reduce CO2 emissions and pollutants that directly harm human health, such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Choosing an efficient electric vehicle is far more effective. But what should electric vehicle buyers look for in order to choose the most efficient electric vehicle?

The EPA provides efficiency information on the label of new electric vehicles, generally in MPG equivalents or MPGe, so it’s best to look for an electric vehicle with a high MPGe rating.

The inefficient 9,000-pound GMC Hummer EV uses just 1.4 miles per kWh. Are there other electric vehicles with similarly low efficiency?

None are as low as the Hummer EV, but energy consumers of ultra-luxury SUVs and pickup truck electric vehicles are also relatively low, generally below 4 km/kWh.

Electricity grids are gradually becoming cleaner, but fossil fuels are not. Is there a trend where electric vehicles are also becoming more efficient as battery technology improves?

I don’t have good information on trends in electric vehicle efficiency, but we are seeing more and more electric vehicles being sold.

Your press release states that using a more efficient electric vehicle (3.5 miles/kWh) could result in an additional savings of $680 per year. Miles per kWh may be a strange unit of measurement for many adult consumers. Is this part of the learning curve for electric vehicles and what about MPGe, is that relevant?

MPGe can also be used and is the most visible efficiency number on EV labels, but says less about the performance of the EVs themselves since EVs don’t have gallons involved. However, it can be used to differentiate EVs and is particularly good at showing how much more efficient EVs are from internal combustion engine vehicles.

Are there any other important electric vehicle metrics or factors that electric vehicle buyers should consider?

There are many other factors to consider when purchasing a vehicle.

Your press release describes the Tesla Model Y as an efficient electric vehicle. Is the Tesla Model 3 also efficient?

Yes, the Tesla Model 3 is a fairly efficient electric vehicle and generally more efficient than the Model Y.