Most EV range gauges guess forward from how the car was driven last week. That works on an interstate and falls apart at a trailhead, where the next few hours might mean crawling up rock at walking pace on aired-down tires. Jeep’s parent company has an answer for that moment, a system that would study the route before the driver commits, ask a few questions about the day ahead and say whether the battery will last, according to a patent filing.
The application comes from FCA US, Stellantis’ North American arm, and was published in the US this month. Its description of the problem is blunt. “Many trails do not (and will not) have the infrastructure needed for charging EVs,” it says, and an electric vehicle that runs flat out there is “very difficult” to recover because of its weight and complexity. One early drive of Jeep’s electric SUV made the same point from the driver’s seat, predicting owners would spend much of an outing eyeing that remaining range indicator.
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