Comparative Sensitivity Analyses of Energy Consumption in Response to Average Speed Between Electric Vehicles and Conventional Vehicles: Case Study in Beijing, China

Understanding the sensitivity of vehicle energy consumption to average speed variations is critical for accurately assessing the environmental impacts of urban transportation systems. While the energy consumption patterns of conventional vehicles (CVs) have been extensively studied, the response cha...

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Main Authors: Xue Lei, Hongyu Lu, Pengfei Fan, Rui Liu, Songsong Li, Yizheng Wu, Guohua Song
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2268
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author Xue Lei
Hongyu Lu
Pengfei Fan
Rui Liu
Songsong Li
Yizheng Wu
Guohua Song
author_facet Xue Lei
Hongyu Lu
Pengfei Fan
Rui Liu
Songsong Li
Yizheng Wu
Guohua Song
author_sort Xue Lei
collection DOAJ
description Understanding the sensitivity of vehicle energy consumption to average speed variations is critical for accurately assessing the environmental impacts of urban transportation systems. While the energy consumption patterns of conventional vehicles (CVs) have been extensively studied, the response characteristics of electric vehicles (EVs) and their fundamental differences from CVs remain insufficiently explored. This knowledge gap may lead to misguided policy interventions—for instance, implementing congestion mitigation strategies that may paradoxically increase EV energy demand. To address this research gap, we developed an energy consumption model based on vehicle-specific power (VSP) distribution analysis, calibrated with over 25 million second-by-second driving records from Beijing. The proposed comparative framework systematically evaluates the sensitivity of EV and CV energy consumption across different speed regimes. The results indicated that EV energy use exhibits a distinctive parabolic trend, with high energy use at both low and high speeds, and a notable increase beyond approximately 70 km/h. A case study indicates that, during the pandemic lockdown, which led to a significant increase in average speed, CV energy use generally decreased, whereas EV energy consumption increased. This discrepancy is primarily attributed to differences in energy consumption rates rather than variations in driving behavior, as reflected in VSP distributions.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1996-1073
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher MDPI AG
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series Energies
spelling doaj-art-cf109cbdc3104bd79ff6b3c4e9c1dc002025-08-20T03:52:58ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-04-01189226810.3390/en18092268Comparative Sensitivity Analyses of Energy Consumption in Response to Average Speed Between Electric Vehicles and Conventional Vehicles: Case Study in Beijing, ChinaXue Lei0Hongyu Lu1Pengfei Fan2Rui Liu3Songsong Li4Yizheng Wu5Guohua Song6Key Laboratory of Transport Industry of Big Data Application Technologies for Comprehensive Transport, Ministry of Transport, Beijing Jiaotong University, 3 Shangyuan Cun, Haidian District, Beijing 100044, ChinaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 790 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAKey Laboratory of Transport Industry of Big Data Application Technologies for Comprehensive Transport, Ministry of Transport, Beijing Jiaotong University, 3 Shangyuan Cun, Haidian District, Beijing 100044, ChinaBeijing Capital Highway Development Group Company Limited, 9A, Liuliqiao Nanli, Fengtai District, Beijing 100161, ChinaBeijing Capital Highway Development Group Company Limited, 9A, Liuliqiao Nanli, Fengtai District, Beijing 100161, ChinaKey Laboratory of Transport Industry of Big Data Application Technologies for Comprehensive Transport, Ministry of Transport, Beijing Jiaotong University, 3 Shangyuan Cun, Haidian District, Beijing 100044, ChinaKey Laboratory of Transport Industry of Big Data Application Technologies for Comprehensive Transport, Ministry of Transport, Beijing Jiaotong University, 3 Shangyuan Cun, Haidian District, Beijing 100044, ChinaUnderstanding the sensitivity of vehicle energy consumption to average speed variations is critical for accurately assessing the environmental impacts of urban transportation systems. While the energy consumption patterns of conventional vehicles (CVs) have been extensively studied, the response characteristics of electric vehicles (EVs) and their fundamental differences from CVs remain insufficiently explored. This knowledge gap may lead to misguided policy interventions—for instance, implementing congestion mitigation strategies that may paradoxically increase EV energy demand. To address this research gap, we developed an energy consumption model based on vehicle-specific power (VSP) distribution analysis, calibrated with over 25 million second-by-second driving records from Beijing. The proposed comparative framework systematically evaluates the sensitivity of EV and CV energy consumption across different speed regimes. The results indicated that EV energy use exhibits a distinctive parabolic trend, with high energy use at both low and high speeds, and a notable increase beyond approximately 70 km/h. A case study indicates that, during the pandemic lockdown, which led to a significant increase in average speed, CV energy use generally decreased, whereas EV energy consumption increased. This discrepancy is primarily attributed to differences in energy consumption rates rather than variations in driving behavior, as reflected in VSP distributions.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2268energy consumptionelectric vehiclesVSP distributionsensitivity analysis
spellingShingle Xue Lei
Hongyu Lu
Pengfei Fan
Rui Liu
Songsong Li
Yizheng Wu
Guohua Song
Comparative Sensitivity Analyses of Energy Consumption in Response to Average Speed Between Electric Vehicles and Conventional Vehicles: Case Study in Beijing, China
Energies
energy consumption
electric vehicles
VSP distribution
sensitivity analysis
title Comparative Sensitivity Analyses of Energy Consumption in Response to Average Speed Between Electric Vehicles and Conventional Vehicles: Case Study in Beijing, China
title_full Comparative Sensitivity Analyses of Energy Consumption in Response to Average Speed Between Electric Vehicles and Conventional Vehicles: Case Study in Beijing, China
title_fullStr Comparative Sensitivity Analyses of Energy Consumption in Response to Average Speed Between Electric Vehicles and Conventional Vehicles: Case Study in Beijing, China
title_full_unstemmed Comparative Sensitivity Analyses of Energy Consumption in Response to Average Speed Between Electric Vehicles and Conventional Vehicles: Case Study in Beijing, China
title_short Comparative Sensitivity Analyses of Energy Consumption in Response to Average Speed Between Electric Vehicles and Conventional Vehicles: Case Study in Beijing, China
title_sort comparative sensitivity analyses of energy consumption in response to average speed between electric vehicles and conventional vehicles case study in beijing china
topic energy consumption
electric vehicles
VSP distribution
sensitivity analysis
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2268
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