Australia’s peak motoring body says independent testing of four new electric vehicles has found their real-world driving range to be between 3% and 31% shorter than laboratory results reported to consumers.
The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) says the results provide potential electric vehicle (EV) buyers with information to understand which cars perform as advertised and which fall short of their official range claims.
The findings come as AAA polling shows 60% of people identifying as likely EV buyers nominate concerns about vehicle range and recharging as “the main concerns or hesitations” preventing them from choosing an EV.
AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley said the results give consumers an independent indication of real-world battery range.
“These results give consumers an independent indication of real-world battery range, which means they now know which cars perform as advertised and which do not,” Bradley said.
“Giving consumers improved information about real-world driving range means buyers can worry less about running out of charge and make the switch to EVs with confidence.”
Tesla leads performance, MG4 shows biggest gap
In the latest results, the Tesla Model Y 2025 performed closest to its laboratory test result with a real-world driving range of 450km, which is 3% or 16km less than the distance recorded in its lab test.
The MG4 2023 recorded the biggest variation from its lab test, with a real-world range of 281km on a single charge, or 31% less than its range reported on its mandated windscreen sticker.
The Kia EV3 2025 delivered 537km of real-world range, 11% below its laboratory figure of 604km, while the Smart #1 2024 achieved 367km, representing a 13% shortfall from its 420km lab range.
The AAA Real World Testing Program has now tested nine EVs in total, finding each had an on-road range shorter than the results recorded in mandatory laboratory testing reported by carmakers, with significant variations between models.
Geelong-based testing program
The program tests cars on a 93km circuit in and around Geelong, Victoria, using strict testing protocols based on European regulations to ensure results are repeatable and minimise the influence of human factors such as driving style and changing traffic flows.
Real-world testing measures EV range by quantifying both the energy needed to drive a vehicle around the test route and the energy needed to recharge each vehicle’s fully depleted battery.
The program is supported by $14 million in Commonwealth funding and was created in response to the 2015 Volkswagen scandal, which showed increasingly stringent regulation of vehicle emissions incentivises carmakers to optimise vehicle functionality for laboratory rather than real-world performance.
Since starting in 2023, the program has also tested 131 internal combustion and hybrid vehicles and found 76% of these cars used more fuel on-road than in their laboratory tests.
In August 2025, the AAA released results from its first tranche of EV testing, which included the Tesla Model 3, BYD Atto 3, Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, and Smart #3. Range variations in that batch ranged from 5% to 23% below laboratory figures.
Energy consumption figures quoted are reported in accordance with the Australian Government’s regulated standard, Australian Design Rule 81/02, and published on the Australian Government’s Green Vehicle Guide.
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