Introduction
Routing an EV is different from routing a petrol car. How far a vehicle can drive, which chargers it can use, and how fast it charges all depend on the vehicle itself. The vehicle database gives you that information, so you don’t have to collect and maintain it yourself.
Every route and isoline request needs a vehicle id, and the same data lets you build vehicle selectors, show specifications, and filter charging stations to ones the driver can use.
EV basics
A few properties of electric vehicles explain why vehicle data matters.
Drivetrains
An ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle burns fuel. An EV runs on electricity from a battery that is recharged at a charging station. The database covers four drivetrain types:
| Drivetrain | Description |
|---|---|
| BEV | Battery electric vehicle. Runs on the battery only. |
| PHEV | Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Combines a battery that can be plugged in with a combustion engine. |
| EREV | Extended range electric vehicle. Driven by the battery, with a combustion engine that extends the range. |
| HEV | Hybrid electric vehicle. Combines a combustion engine and a battery that can’t be plugged in. |
Charging
EVs charge using one of several plug types, so a charger is only useful if the vehicle supports its connector. Charging speed falls into three levels. Levels 1 and 2 use AC and take hours. Level 3, also called fast charging, uses DC and can charge a vehicle in under an hour. How fast a vehicle actually charges depends on its charge curve, which the routing service takes into account.
What affects range
Battery performance changes with the weather, the use of climate control, and the specifications of the vehicle, much like a phone battery drains faster in the cold. This is why a single range figure is not enough to plan a trip. Range depends on the conditions, and the routing service accounts for them to predict how much energy a vehicle uses between two points. That prediction is what lets an application recommend charging stops along a journey, and show the area a vehicle can reach with an isoline. It addresses range anxiety, the fear of running out of charge before reaching a destination or a charger.
Vehicle database
The database contains BEV, PHEV, HEV and EREV models. New models are added as they are released to market. An overview of every vehicle:
All BEVs and EREVs come with a validated consumption model. It accounts for properties such as drag coefficient and rolling resistance in relation to speed, elevation, charging speed, charging temperature and battery temperature. This is what makes the range and route predictions specific to the vehicle being driven.
Premium data
Vehicle premium is an add-on with extended data about the battery, the body of the vehicle, availability, pricing, efficiency, safety and more. Contact sales to upgrade to premium vehicle data.
Images
Rights-cleared vehicle images are available as an add-on. They are higher quality than the images included by default. Contact sales to enable them for your project.
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