Boosting EV Efficiency with Lightfoot Tech

author: FutureCar Staff    

Lightfoot, a company specializing in telematics technology, has found that the efficiency of electric vehicles (EV) used as company cars has improved by 35% in the past year. This improvement can be attributed to advancements in technology and coaching provided by Lightfoot.

In their analysis of hundreds of cars in their system, Lightfoot measured real-time consumption and mileage using their technology. They reported that average efficiency has increased from 2.75 miles per kWh in July 2022 to 3.72 miles per kWh in June 2023.

According to Lightfoot's managing director, Paul Hollick, these figures demonstrate the progress being made in the adoption of EVs in the fleet sector. He emphasized that businesses and drivers are combining Lightfoot's system with the latest EV technology to significantly improve efficiency and range.

To illustrate the impact of this improvement, Lightfoot provided an example. A driver operating a car with a 60 kWh battery at 2.75 miles per kWh in 2022 could expect a real-world range of 165 miles. However, by the middle of 2023, a car with a similarly sized battery would have a real-life range of 223 miles, going nearly 60 miles further on every charge.

All drivers in the study had Lightfoot's driver management system installed, which provides feedback on their driving style to improve efficiency and range. Hollick added that the Lightfoot system has been proven to reduce fuel consumption in petrol and diesel vehicles, and this data shows its transformational effect on EVs as well.

The increase in efficiency not only impacts range but also reduces costs. Assuming a 60 kWh battery car charged at 30p per kWh in 2022, it would cost 11p per mile to run. However, in 2023, it would cost 8p per mile. Over a year of driving 20,000 miles, the 2023 car with Lightfoot technology would save £580 in electricity costs compared to the 2022 car.

Lightfoot's telematics data also revealed the impact of external factors on EV efficiency. The only significant slowdown in improvement occurred during a heatwave in July and August 2022. The heavy use of air conditioning during this period caused efficiency to drop from 3.0 miles per kWh to 2.4, a 20% decrease.

According to Hollick, this demonstrates that air conditioning has a larger impact on EV range than colder weather during the winter months. He emphasized the importance of considering these external factors in efficiency and cost predictions, and highlighted that Lightfoot's driver coaching and telematics make EVs cheaper to run and go further.

FutureCar Staff