How to make better use of your car? Just like life information that helps our rich lives, there are ways to use cars more conveniently and efficiently. In particular, there is a big difference in how electric vehicles operate because they use a different power source than current internal combustion engine vehicles. Here are common tips for making your electric vehicles more electric.
Fast charging is very convenient on long trips thanks to the fast charging time. Hyundai Motor Group’s latest electric vehicles, including the Hyundai IONIQ 5, the Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60, are specialized in fast charging. This is also the privilege of E-GMP, which uses an 800V high-voltage charging system as a standard. For example, the IONIQ 5 can be charged from 10% to 80% within 18 minutes with an ultra-fast charger. In addition, through the multi-quick charging system applied by Hyundai Motor Group for the first time in the world, both the 800V high voltage charging system and the 400V fast charging infrastructure can be utilized without additional items. However, fast charging stations in Korea can only charge up to 80%. Why are fast charging stations capped at 80%?
Electric vehicle batteries are charged and discharged through chemical reactions. The active chemical reaction that occurs during charging means fast charging. When the battery is charged over a certain capacity, the number of ions and electrons that cause chemical reaction decreases and the reaction rate also decreases. Excessive current supply in this state may damage the battery. In other words, it is for battery protection that ultra-fast (or fast) chargers limit the maximum charging capacity to 80%. Therefore, the user does not need to be particularly careful during ultra-fast charging. This is because ultra-fast chargers either limit themselves at 80% of the battery’s capacity, or slow the charging speed when it exceeds 80%. However, it is important to unplug quickly for other users after charging.
The temperature of the battery is one of the important conditions that determine the charging time. To this end, the Genesis GV60 and the recently launched Hyundai 2023 IONIQ 5 provide a battery conditioning mode. For the GV60 and 2023 IONIQ 5, for example, setting the navigation destination to a fast charging station activates a battery conditioning mode to optimize battery temperature. Therefore, even in winter, when the temperature is low, a fast charging speed can be secured through the battery that has reached the ideal temperature.
The most important component of an electric vehicle is the battery. Since the performance of the battery determines the lifespan of an electric vehicle, it is also necessary to pay attention to battery management. Of course, battery management isn’t particularly difficult; Reduce exposure to high-temperature or low-temperature environments, beware of complete discharge, and avoid sudden acceleration and sudden stops.
Another important thing is to keep the battery level at a certain level. For lithium-ion batteries used as batteries for electric vehicles, it is ideal to maintain 80% of the total battery capacity. In addition, if the remaining battery level is maintained at 25-75%, it can lessen the deterioration of the battery and maintain the performance for a long time. Of course, even a 100% charge is not an issue for durability. Even avoiding a full discharge will greatly help maintain battery performance. Hyundai Motor Group’s latest electric vehicle models such as the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60 allow the driver to set the desired charge amount. The owners can change the maximum battery charge from 50 to 100% by ten percentage points in EV Settings mode in the infotainment menu.
Most of the latest electric vehicles have a driving range of more than 400 km on a single charge. Nevertheless, some drivers may feel burdened on long journeys. If you are going to go far away with an electric car, you need to plan ahead for a comfortable journey to your destination. For the driving plan, it would be better to identify the final destination and waypoint, and the charging stations on the route. This is for building a charging plan in advance by measuring the approximate distance to the destination and the mileage of the electric vehicle.
In the case of electric vehicles of Hyundai Motor Group, it provides useful information for long-distance driving as a function specialized for electric vehicles - charging station status information that notifies in real time whether charging is possible or faulty, charging notification and charging station search considering the remaining battery level when setting a navigation destination, low cost Scheduled charging function that allows you to charge according to the charging time, etc. These features are a great help in preparing for long trips.
Just as important as smart charging tips is how to use the battery up efficiently. ‘Discharging’ refers to the release of electric energy, and thus, in an electric vehicle, refers to driving efficiency. In other words, the driving technique using electric energy is just as important as the charging process. The efficient driving of an electric vehicle is not much different from that of an internal combustion engine. Fuel-efficient driving by reducing unnecessary acceleration and deceleration and driving at an appropriate speed is also effective in electric vehicles. For example, when driving on a highway, if you follow the legal maximum speed and continue driving at a constant speed, you will be able to visually check the increase in the drivable distance.
Another useful driving tip is the use of regenerative braking. Electric vehicles consume power from the battery while accelerating, but in the process of deceleration, on the contrary, they charge the battery using regenerative braking. The kinetic energy of the vehicle is converted back into electrical energy through an electric motor and supplied to the battery. Regenerative braking is activated when the driver takes their foot off the accelerator or presses the brake pedal. However, if you press the brake pedal deeply, a general disc brake is activated for quick deceleration. This is why it is important to avoid sudden acceleration and sudden stops when driving an electric vehicle.
Therefore, if the regenerative braking is used well when driving downhill or in city driving where acceleration and deceleration should be often, the efficiency can be increased. Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60 provide a function to adjust the strength of regenerative braking and a smart regenerative braking system that automatically adjusts the stage of regenerative braking. The paddle shift lever offers regenerative braking strength from 0 to 3 levels, and the smart regenerative braking system adjusts the regenerative braking step by itself according to the road slope, the driver’s deceleration tendency, the position of the vehicle in front, and the presence of a speed camera.
The cold winter is an unwelcome season for electric vehicle owners. This is because, when the temperature is lowered, not only the performance of the battery decreases, but also a lot of electric energy is consumed for heating the room. Therefore, electric vehicle owners need a smart heating strategy to increase the efficiency of electric vehicles. First of all, please use the indoor parking lot if possible. If the battery gets too cold, its performance will decrease. In addition, the battery and interior should be preheated before departure to reduce energy consumed while driving. Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60 can easily prepare for winter driving through winter mode and reservation air conditioning. Winter mode preheats the battery that has cooled to a certain temperature in winter to secure the vehicle’s driving performance and charging performance. In addition, the preconditioning function operates the air conditioner during charging to create a comfortable indoor temperature without consuming energy from the electric vehicle battery.
Heating while driving is also necessary. In electric vehicles, the heater consumes the most energy except for the motor. Therefore, setting the heater to an appropriate temperature and reducing the amount of use of the heater by using the seat wire and steering wheel heating wire together will help increase the mileage. For reference, Hyundai’s IONIQ 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60 are housed with a heat pump with excellent thermal efficiency. The heat pump boasts excellent heating efficiency in winter by utilizing the waste heat generated from the battery and PE system.
Above were tips and operating methods to make the most of electric vehicles. From charging to heating strategy, if you understand the characteristics of electric vehicles, managing electric vehicles is not difficult at all. Moreover, Hyundai Motor Group is doing its best to help customers use electric vehicles more conveniently through various functions specialized for electric vehicles. When the excellent performance of Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicles, the functions optimized for electric vehicles, and the smart operation tips of electric vehicle owners are combined, a more pleasant and convenient electric vehicle life will be possible.
HMG Journal Operation Team
group@hyundai.comPursuant to the Creative Commons License (CCL) 2.0, all users can copy, distribute, and transmit Information available on the Hyundai Motor Group Newsroom, or use it for exhibitions and performances. Please note, however, that all information is protected by copyright. Information users must use the information available on the Hyundai Motor Group Newsroom for strictly private/personal purposes only.
HMG Operation Policy