Tesla Model Y gets official 507km range and confirmed as most efficient SUV
Source: Tesla
The Tesla Model Y has now officially received its official range and efficiency rating from the Environmental Protection Authority, confirming that it will have 507km (315 miles) driving range and that it is the most efficient crossover SUV now available in the US.
Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk said at the company’s fourth quarter earnings call in January that the Model Y’s range had been increased thanks to Tesla’s engineering team and that it was now the most efficient SUV in terms of energy use.
“We managed to achieve by far the highest energy efficiency of any SUV ever produced at 4.1 miles per kilowatt hour, which means the Model Y AWD got an EPA rating of 315 miles,” Musk said at the time.
The figures – which it should be noted have only been released so far for the relatively more power-hungry Performance variant – have been published on the US EPA’s fuel economy website as Tesla prepares to begin deliveries of the Model Y by the end of March.
According to the figures, the Model Y whittles through the equivalent energy found in just 2.1 litres of fuel every 100km on the highway, beating the Hyundai Kona Electric’s 2.2 litres per 100km, which was previously the most efficient compact SUV on the US market.
In the city, the Model Y is as efficient as the Hyundai Kona Electric, and overall comes in with 1.9 litres per 100km combined ahead of the Kona Electric’s 2.0 litres per 100km, using 28kWh/100 miles (that’s about 17.5kWh/100km).
Due to a larger and heavier body, it uses more power than the Model 3’s energy equivalent usage of 1.7 litres per 100km, which runs on an average of 24kWh/100 miles, or 15kWh/100km.
Source: fueleconomy.gov
While we already knew that the Model Y had been approved with 315 miles range by the California Air Resources Board, it’s the first independent confirmation of the Model Y’s energy efficiency.
It is a whopping three times more efficient than the next most efficient vehicle on the US market after the Hyundai Kona Electric on the EPA list in this crossover SUV class, the hybrid Ford Escape which uses 6.4 litres/100km.
Compared to other electric SUVs currently on the US market, the Model Y is also leagues ahead.
The Jaguar I-Pace has an equivalent energy usage of 3.1 litres per 100km when combining city and highway usage, while the Audi e-tron uses 3.2 litres per 100km.
It will be interesting to see how the Long Range rates against all of the above also, when those figures are also released over coming weeks, and then following from that the Standard Range or Standard Range Plus (we would assume only the latter as for the Model 3).
Official energy consumption figures for the Model Y are of course not yet available in Australia – these will not be added to the Australian Green Vehicle Guide until sometime when it is made available locally.
When that will be is not yet known, but when it is the Model Y is expected to generate as much excitement as the Model 3 did when Tesla first made it available for order.
Coalition passes over Teslas to pick diesels for new COMCAR fleet
It is probably the most recognisable vehicle fleet in Australia, but the federal government’s COMCAR fleet, used to ferry politicians, senior bureaucrats and senior federal judges around Canberra and other capital cities, still won’t feature any all-electric vehicle models.
The COMCAR fleet, which has long consisted of a fleet of white V8-engined Holden Caprice sedans, will transition to a mix of diesel-fuelled BMW’s and a hybrid Toyota Camry model, after a Department of Finance led assessment snubbed the all-electric options, which included two models of Teslas.
With the decline of Holden’s manufacturing activities in Australia, the Department of Finance opened up the tender for fleet providers to a wide range of overseas manufacturers.
The Department undertook an initial “desktop” assessment of 18 vehicles, which included models from Kia, BMW, Nissan, Hyundai, Tesla, Mercedes and Toyota, with several models of all-electric vehicles evaluated.
The Department told The Driven that the vehicles reviewed included the Tesla S and Tesla X all-electric vehicles.
However, no all-electric vehicles made the final shortlist of seven vehicles that were selected by the Department to be trialled as part of the COMCAR fleet in early 2019 (and before the release in Australia of the Model 3).
That list of seven included vehicles from Hyundai, BMW, Toyota and Mercedes, but included just one hybrid vehicle from Toyota.
It is unclear why the Tesla’s were ultimately excluded after the desktop assessment, but a response provided by the Department of Finance suggested it may relate to vehicle size, rather than any issue that related to performance or the need for new charging infrastructure.
“COMCAR undertook a preliminary assessment of a wide range of vehicles, including a number of all-electric vehicles, which were not considered fit-for-purpose for COMCAR’s operations, due to their size and capacity,” a department spokesperson told The Driven.
It is also unclear whether the Tesla models were test-driven as part of the assessment, with the Department indicating the initial “desktop” assessment included “visual inspections” of some models, and suggested that not all of the vehicles were driven.
“The preliminary assessment involved a desktop evaluation, to consider a range of possible future fleet vehicles for COMCAR’s use, including a number of electric vehicles that were available in Australia,” the Department spokesperson said.
“COMCAR then worked closely with sgFleet, the Australian Government fleet provider, to assess the suitability of 18 vehicles against the Australian Government Fleet Vehicle Selection Policy.
This included both visual inspecting and test driving some vehicles, including the two Tesla models.”
It is also not clear if the assessment included idling time. Drivers are often stuck waiting outside parliament and other venues for lengthy periods with the engines idling to keep the aircon/heat on.
EVs, of course, can power air con units with the battery.
The Driven understands that concerns had been raised within the Department of Finance about the purchase price of the Tesla vehicles, which for the two models assessed exceed well over $100,000 – despite the lower ongoing operating costs of all-electric vehicles.
All of the vehicles were assessed against the government’s “Fleet Vehicle Selection Policy”, which requires some consideration of the environmental performance of the vehicles as part of the assessment criteria.
The Department ultimately settled on the diesel BMW 6 series GT sedan to serve as the bulk of the new COMCAR fleet, with the Toyota Camry hybrid sedan also joining the fleet.
The BMW 6 Series GT sedan (620d TD) starts at $102,900, before on-road costs. However, the successful vehicles chosen to supply COMCAR will be exempt from the federal government’s Luxury Car Tax.
Both vehicles are able to achieve better fuel efficiency than the previous fleet of Holden Caprice sedans, and the Department of Finance estimates the operating cost of the COMCAR fleet, including fuel and maintenance costs, are expected to be reduced by as much as $100,000 per year.
The federal government’s own Clean Energy Finance Corporation hosted a series of electric vehicle ‘track days’, including one held in Sydney, in an attempt to encourage fleet managers and providers to include all-electric vehicles in their vehicle fleets.
The Prime Minister’s armoured limousine was replaced by a BMW 7 series sedan in 2014.
Several state governments have already begun incorporating electric vehicles into their fleets, with each of the NSW, QLD, SA and ACT government’s setting targets for adding electric vehicles to their government fleets.
The South Australian government has well exceeded a target of using 30 per cent zero-emissions vehicles in its fleets by 2019.
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