Winter is at the Door: How to Use Electric Vehicles in Cold Weather?

Metaverse Planet November 7, 2025Last Updated: November 7, 2025

3 minutes read

As winter approaches, there are points you need to pay attention to regarding the use of an electric car in cold weather. We have compiled what owners of electric vehicles should consider when driving in cold weather. How do electric vehicles get affected by cold weather around the world?

The most common complaint from users here is the drop in the vehicle’s range. Yes, extreme cold can affect the car’s battery, causing the range to drop by around 20%. Lithium-ion batteries work by the movement of ions from one electrode to another inside them. When the weather gets cold, the electrolyte liquid inside these batteries becomes more viscous (denser), and chemical reactions slow down.

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Pre-conditioning

The first thing car owners should absolutely do in cold weather is pre-conditioning. In this method, also known as pre-conditioning, the vehicle’s cabin and battery are heated before you start using it. Almost all modern electric cars have this feature. You can do this using methods such as a mobile application, the vehicle screen, or a timer. It will be beneficial to do this before you set off. Pre-heating brings the battery to its optimum temperature, resulting in improvements in both range and performance.

Smart Heat Management, Calm Driving

Models with a heat pump can seriously prevent range loss during the winter months. Therefore, choosing a heat pump will be beneficial. Apart from these, features like a heated steering wheel and seats can be preferred as they have high efficiency.

Of course, driving style is also very important here. Calm driving will improve range performance. Gentle acceleration, avoiding sudden bursts of speed, and using economic driving modes will be very useful in reducing consumption, especially in cold weather where range is already reduced.

One of the most crucial points concerns regenerative braking. The “single-pedal driving” or energy recovery feature of electric vehicles when braking may not work properly with a cold battery. A cold battery cannot accept a sudden, high energy load being put onto it. Therefore, you may notice that regenerative braking is reduced when you first set off. Be prepared for this and get used to using the physical brake pedal more until the battery warms up.

Correct Charging Strategy

Cold weather affects not only discharge but also the charging process. To protect a frozen or very cold battery, the battery management system may not allow DC fast charging or seriously limit its speed. If you are going on a long trip and will stop at a fast-charging station, use your car’s “navigate to charging station” feature, if it has one. The vehicle starts pre-heating the battery for fast charging as it knows you are approaching the DC station.

In daily use, if home charging is possible, leave your vehicle plugged in and charging overnight. Try not to let the battery drop below 20% and keep it close to 100%, unless the manufacturer recommends 80%. Setting off immediately after the charging process is complete is also an advantage, as the battery heats up slightly while charging, and you utilize this heat when you start driving. If possible, parking in a closed garage prevents the battery from getting excessively cold overnight, which returns to you as extra range every morning.

We have reviewed methods that will allow you to use electric vehicles more efficiently, especially in the cold weather of winter. After implementing these, you will see a noticeable decrease in problems. If you have any suggestions, don’t forget to share them with us in the comments. The electric vehicle population is increasing rapidly. With winter at the door, electric vehicle owners are wondering what they should do during these months. Due to the possibility of experiencing some problems in cold weather, all electric vehicles have certain points to pay attention to.

In this content, we will detail what electric vehicle owners should do in cold weather. If you want to avoid consequences such as range loss and other performance issues, we recommend you check out the methods below.