An electric car in winter. Practical advice from driver and expert

How to extend the range of an electric car in winter, increase comfort and preserve its battery life? We bring you tips from the best experts - an experienced user and an engineer who develops electric drive at Škoda Auto.

14. 1. 2025 eMobility

Falling temperatures are always more challenging for the operation of a passenger car. And many people believe this is doubly true for electric cars. However, experience has shown that this need not be the case.

"My habits don't fundamentally change in winter. I just try to keep the car connected to the AC charger overnight, which then supplies the energy for the interior pre-heating function and the battery," says Oliver Manicke, head of battery systems development at Škoda Auto, on the Explore Škoda podcast.

The appropriate use of battery preheating is a traditional tip to extend the range of an electric car in winter and increase passenger comfort. However, the correct use of this function is also important. "During the week I have the preheat scheduled, and at the weekend I turn it on as needed, depending on how far I drive. For a five-minute trip to the supermarket, you don’t need the preheat and it's more efficient to do without it," says Manicke, adding that in the future, AI features will make cars even more helpful to users in this regard.

Keep the battery charged to at least 20 - 40%

The advice of Škoda Auto engineers is to push the traditional value of the minimum battery charge a little in winter. The common advice is not to let the charge level drop below 20%, but in winter you can increase this value to 40% before your journey. "This is a value that, given the chemical processes in the battery, ensures that the car has enough energy even for fast driving on the highway without prior preheating," explains Manicke. At the same time, the standard maximum should be 80% charge, and it is advisable to charge the battery to 100% only before a longer trip.

Plan a longer journey

Manicke recommends planning longer routes, especially to unfamiliar places, either via a mobile or web application, or directly in the car. "When calculating the route, the car works with the average consumption from previous days, so in winter it can take into account any greater charging needs," he mentions.

Car as part of the household

Both Oliver Manicke and Domhnall Dods customer agree that it is advantageous to have an electric car as part of your household energy solution. In winter, they say, it is doubly advantageous. "In many countries, energy suppliers are willing to lower the price if they know that you are using an electric car that you can charge, for example, when there is a surplus of energy," says Manicke. So, find out how it works in your case and what your options are.

Tips from an experienced user

Domhnall Dods has been driving an electric Enyaq since 2021. And in 2024, he replaced his original with a 58-kWh usable battery for a newer 77-kWh version. "Because with the 60, then, yeah, I would be maybe needing a charge round about the same time that I needed a break for comfort reasons. But with the 85, it’s not an issue, I always have to stop before the car." he mentions his habits.

Heated steering wheel and seats are great

"My son would complain, if I in the morning forget to set the seat heating. For me the other thing I never knew that I needed was the heated steering wheel." Dods says of the comfort features. However, he adds another observation, "My last car had the Lounge interior and I find out that wasn’t quite so cold. Now I have the Suite, it’s pure leather seats, so you definitely need to heat those up." So, he makes it clear that a car's trim does have an impact on its winter usability, and it's a good thing to consider. For example, a heat pump heating system will extend the range.

I'm trying not to strain the 12V battery

Although electric cars have a high-voltage traction battery, they also use a conventional 12V battery to power the on-board systems. It's particularly sensitive in winter, so Dods advises not to strain it: "The regular 12V I mean I basically try not to keep checking the app. You know that maybe when you first got an EV the novelty of checking the app to see what the battery is like, wheather it’s locked and all that sort of thing, it’s tempting. I learned long ago that there’s really no need to keep doing that, so I basically don’t keep checking my app and avoid pinging the car, waking it up, because I know that’s the way to flatten the batteries." says user of Enyaq SUV.

I switch the heating to manual

Because of the range, Dods says he doesn't have to limit himself in terms of thermal comfort with his Enyaq. He does have one tip, though. "So one tip I was given, what I do there is, I take the HVAC system, the heating and ventilation system, I take it away from automatic. I just set it to one which for me one and twenty degrees, for me that’s quite comfortable. I find actually if I set on to manual, it reduces the energy consumption quite a lot." he says. "I definitely don’t freeze myself, so if I’m feeling too cold, or indeed too hot, I’ll use the system." he adds.