Half the range is gone when you hitch a trailer to an EV

BERLIN: As the e-mobility movement gathers pace, the first electrics and plug-in hybrids with a trailer coupling are beginning to arrive. Some large SUVs in particular claim to be able to lug a heavy load with all-electric power.

And yet it comes at a cost.

The towing loads in some high-end electrics can be almost as high as those in petrol and diesel cars, but once your trailer is attached, you say goodbye to around half of your range.

According to the ADAC, Europe's largest car club, the most powerful electric towing vehicle is the new BMW iX with a towing capacity of 2,500kg - about enough for a horse trailer or a larger caravan.

Tesla's Model X can pull trailers weighing as much as 2,268kg. Audi's e-tron, Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and Kia's EV6 are in the middle of the field with 1,800kg for Audi and 1,600kg permissible towing capacity. The Polestar 2 and the Volvo XC40 are also capable of a mid-level load.

In general, however, few electric cars are suited to towing caravans or trailers, and most EV manufacturers won't sell you a tow hitch for your electric, while the permissible axle load is rarely stated.

The reason why is because towing a trailer comes with massively increased power consumption in an electric car, meaning your driving range plummets accordingly.

In addition, most EVs simply aren't built, let alone approved, for the extra strain on brakes and motors that towing brings.

As a result, if you've bought a Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia e-Niro, Nissan LEAF, Mazda MX-30 or VW ID.3, you may have noticed that the manufacturer isn't giving you much details on trailers or drawbar loads.

However, Volkswagen is now offering buyers a trailer coupling for the ID.3 for a low drawbar load, although this isn't suited to anything heavier than a bicycle carrier.

Things are different with hybrids, however, and most of these are better suited to heavier loads as they can still fall back on a traditional combustion engine.

According to the ADAC, how much load an electric can manage depends on the weight and air resistance of the trailer as well as the speed you want to drive at.

If you're driving on the motorway, you can expect your range to be roughly halved when a heavy caravan is hooked up.

At the same time, taking a trailer to the charging station can be impractical. At many public charging stations, the trailer will have to be unhooked before charging because it might block the road.

For many campers who want to go on long holiday tours, these factors might be reason enough to avoid the EV-and-trailer combo.

On the other hand, those who are only towing a trailer to the DIY store will hardly notice the higher consumption.