With the continuously rising demand for electric vehicles, real-world energy efficiency is becoming an important performance metric alongside driving range and charging speed. Related to this, a recent test conducted on 22 participating vehicles from 15 different brands in Canada demonstrated the energy efficiency of modern electric vehicles. Each tested electric vehicle covered a 230 km route from Blue Mountain to Vaughan, Ontario in a single charge. The study found that modern electric vehicles consume 40% less energy on an average compared to vehicles tested in CAA’s February 2025 EV Winter Test.
During the recent test conducted in September 2026, variations in energy consumption among the tested vehicles ranged between 11.43 kWh/100 km and 28.91 kWh/ 100 km. This figure demonstrates how a vehicle’s size, weight and aerodynamics determine the electricity needed to cover a specific distance. A low-energy consumption vehicle uses less energy from the battery to cover the same distance, thus reducing charging requirements and charging cost, especially on longer trips.
The key findings of the conducted test include range and battery usage, energy efficiency and charging performance among the vehicles. The Toyota bZ recorded the lowest energy consumption usage at 11.43 kWh/100 km, whereas the Lucid Gravity recorded the highest energy consumption at 28.91 kWh/100 km. CAA test also highlights that the two tests, conducted in different years involved different vehicles and operating conditions. Therefore, the resulting figures should not be treated as a direct vehicle-to-vehicle comparison.
The test demonstrates that EV evolution is more about increasing range. To be more practical while designing electric vehicle, designers and engineers must cater different factors such as energy consumption, charging performance, battery temperature, and vehicle design for improving the overall performance.
