Electric vehicles start in -40 C, but don't drive as far, say N.W.T. drivers

Extreme cold might reduce how far her electric vehicle can drive on a single charge by 40 per cent, but that isn't a deal-breaker for Hay River, N.W.T. resident Patricia Wray. 

"We got it because we knew we weren't going to travel south in it," she explained, describing her and her husband's Tesla Model 3 standard range vehicle as an exclusively "in town" car. 

The vehicle has a range of about 250 kilometres when it's 90 per cent charged, and Wray said it doesn't automatically calculate for the cold — she keeps an eye on it herself, and watches as the range disappears more quickly in frigid temperatures.

But she doesn't consider it to be a problem.  

The Wrays have a level 2 charger at home and at work, and the furthest they drive to run an errand is only about 30 kilometres both ways. Unlike gas vehicles, Wray said she can also rely on the Tesla to start when it's -40 C. 

"We have a couple older gas cars and twice last winter, even though they were plugged in … we couldn't get them started. We've never, in the two and a half years we've had the Tesla, ever had it not start if it was plugged in." 

Wray's son-in-law, James Locke, currently lives in Los Angeles, but brought a Tesla to Hay River when he lived in the town back in 2016. After moving to B.C., he would drive the vehicle North to visit his in-laws.

Locke said Teslas lose about 30 per cent of their range in the cold, and only lose 40 per cent in extreme "worst-case-scenario" cold. That's because the battery has to "compensate" to keep itself — and the cabin — warm with electric heat, he said.

When you consider that Teslas have ranges from between 300 to more than 600 kilometres, Locke said the cold-weather range loss is "not a factor" for the average commute. 

In Yellowknife, there is a small candy apple red electric car that zips around the city's streets — noticeable because of the words "YK Car Share Co-op" emblazoned on its sides. 

The car share co-op was founded back in 2017, and it purchased a 2016 Chevrolet Spark in January 2020 through a partnership with the City of Yellowknife. Its members pay a fee up front to join the co-operative, and then pay either $10 or $12 per hour to use the car on evenings, weekends and holidays. 

France Benoit, vice-president of the YK Car Share Co-op, said the vehicle — affectionately named Sparky — has about 40 drivers in total, including city employees who have exclusive access to the vehicle during the work day.

"For our needs in Yellowknife, it's plenty, plenty fine," said Benoit.

The car's range is considerably less than Wray's Tesla, however, with the capacity to drive 120 kilometres in the summer months and between 50 to 60 kilometres in the winter months.