You probably hear this at least twice a year, if not more: "You can't drive electric vehicles in the winter." And it is certainly and unfortunately true that EVs lose range when it gets cold outside. That's because of the extra energy needed to run systems like cabin heaters and defrosters, but also because the chemical reaction inside the lithium-ion battery slows down when temperatures drop. Some EVs are also better at maintaining winter range than others. But on the whole, it's fairly common knowledge these days that winter may mean shorter road trips with longer pit stops for charging.
Yet there's an argument for electric driving in the winter that seldom gets traction in the wider conversation about EV adoption—pun very much intended. EVs, on the whole, have vastly better traction in snowy and icy conditions, preventing wheel slip and, potentially, spin-outs much more effectively than internal-combustion vehicles can.
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