(Bloomberg) -- American car buyers demand more range from electric vehicles than drivers in any other country. For years, a few models made by Tesla were the only long-range game in town, but the era of scarcity is suddenly over.

In the US, the number of EV options that can go 300 miles or more on a single charge, which many consider the threshold for a long-range vehicle, jumped to 30 models at the beginning of 2024, a 500% increase in three years. An additional 20 are set to go on sale later in the year, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg Green. Long-range EVs now come in all shapes and sizes, from the swoopy Hyundai Ioniq 6 sedan that offers 361 miles per charge to the armor-clad Tesla Cybertruck with 340 miles.

Improvements in range and affordability helped boost sales of fully electric vehicles in the US, which accounted for 8% of all new cars in the US last year. Growth in sales is expected to slow in 2024, partly because of the time it takes to scale up production of all the new flagship EVs. 

The meager batteries in early electric cars weren’t a match for American car culture, which was slower to adopt them than Europe and China. It wasn’t until Tesla introduced longer-range vehicles and nationwide faster chargers that the US market took off. The Tesla Model S sedan was the first EV to top 300 miles, in 2016. It was quickly followed by the Model X, Model 3 and Model Y. Those first four range champs still account for half of the US market for EVs. 

The number of vehicles with more than 300 miles of range can be seen as a rough gauge of automaker ambitions in the US. Vehicles with much smaller ranges are perfectly suitable for millions of people with at-home charging and consistent commutes. But given lingering range anxiety and US preference for excess, any carmaker that wants to reach mass-market sales that rival their gas-powered equivalents can’t hope to do so without offering long-range options. 

Thirteen of the 15 best-selling EVs in the US last year offered a battery option with more than 300 miles between charges. Of the two exceptions, the Chevrolet Bolt was discontinued for 2024 while the company works on a longer-range version, leaving only the Volkswagen ID.4, which was upgraded to 291 miles for 2024. The average range of an EV sold in the US in 2023 rose to a record 294 miles. 

Eight years ago, there wasn’t a production EV in the world that could drive as far as the average EV sold today. Now, the 300-mile threshold has become a new standard in the US, seen as roughly equivalent to the convenience and flexibility of a gas-powered car. 

These bigger batteries come with tradeoffs. They make a vehicle heavier and more expensive, and they increase the environmental footprint of building it. In many cases, they offer little benefit, when the typical daily commute is 30 to 40 miles. 

Reasons to go long

Many new EV owners quickly realize that a car’s official battery range can greatly overstate the distance it actually travels on a charge. Most batteries, for example, aren’t meant to be charged to the max every day or run down to zero. Range also drops when you turn on the heater or air conditioning, drive in the rain or against a strong wind, travel over 60 miles per hour, load the car with passengers or luggage, or use a bike rack. In the worst conditions, the usable range of a mid-tier 250-mile battery can easily drop to 90 miles.

Then, too, there’s the issue of charging. For people who frequently rely on public chargers — either on long trips or because they don’t have a regular charging spot — bigger batteries come with advantages. They require less frequent stops, and when it’s time to charge, they can add miles of range more quickly. Some EVs can add 100 miles of driving in less than a quarter of the time it takes others.

A quirk of EV charging is that adding 100 miles of charge to a big battery is much faster than a smaller one. That’s because longer-range batteries are typically made with materials better suited to fast charging. Also, once a battery is half full, the charging rate begins to slow, so smaller batteries spend less time adding miles at their maximum charge rate. 

Poll after poll of American car buyers show four interrelated concerns behind EV reluctance: price, range, time it takes to charge and access to charging stations. Range can help compensate for charging issues — but it comes at a cost. Battery prices declined by 14% last year to a record low, according to BloombergNEF, but they remain the most expensive component of an EV. 

Over the past decade, the average battery range in the US increased almost 13% a year, though that rate may be slowing considerably, as steady improvements in chargers are reducing pressure for ever-longer ranges. This year, Tesla is opening 15,000 of its fastest chargers to other auto brands in the US, effectively doubling the high-speed public charging options for non-Tesla drivers. For now, at least, the 300-mile sweet spot just might be enough. 

Read next: 

  • These Are the Best Electric Cars for High-Mileage US Drivers
  • American Cars Are Developing a Serious Weight Problem
  • Americans Insist on 300 Miles of EV Range. They’re Right

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