Lotus

Range anxiety is psychology, not physics: 16% battery vs 58 miles

Rory's Lotus Eletre at 16% still had about 58 miles of range and he panicked, while his wife drives her Mini Electric at 56% (about 56 miles) without a thought. How the number is displayed drives the anxiety, so reducing anxiety may be cheaper than spending billions to increase battery range.

“Then I look at the actual range and it's about 58 miles. Now my wife's car, that's 56%. Okay. In my wife's car, we drive around at 56%, i.e., with a range of 56 miles all the time without the slightest smidgen of anxiety. But when that's expressed as 16%, not 56 miles, okay, I'm suddenly having conniptions and really panicking. Now, what that suggests is that range anxiety is much more a factor of psychology than it is of physics.”

Steal thisBefore paying for the physical fix, check whether reframing the number removes the customer's anxiety for free.