Which EV Holds The World Record For Longest Distance On A Single Charge?

As battery technology continues to improve, and as battery sizes get larger, the distance travelled on a single charge in electric vehicles continues to climb. According to the Department of Energy, the median EV range of vehicles offered for sale in the United States in 2024, reached a record high of 283 miles. That's an increase in the average of over 200 miles of range since 2011, back when the average was a mere 68 miles. The maximum range numbers are increasing too. A decade ago, in 2015, the maximum range offered in the US was 270 miles. In the last few years, some models have offered an EPA-estimated 520 miles of range on a single charge — nearly double what was possible just 10 years ago. 

These are range estimates though, and there have been several vehicles going well beyond the range you get from a regulated test. In August of 2024, a Ford Mustang Mach-E set a range record, going 569 miles on a single charge using a 91 kWh battery. Then, just a few weeks ago in Japan, a Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ went nearly 100 miles further, setting a record distance of 649 miles on a single charge. Stealing the Mercedes' thunder just a few days after the record was set, a Lucid Air covered 749 miles on a single charge. That's more than double the average range of a new EV today and more than 200 miles of added distance than the car's estimate.

Details from Lucid as to how they set the record are slim, though they do give credit to "advanced drive units, ultra-high voltage architecture, and battery management technology" in the announcement of their record-setting run. For any EV to reach that sort of distance on a single charge, a lot of factors need to be considered. For starters, the car needs to have a big battery – and the Air certainly does. Base trims like the Lucid Air Pure we tested a while back have smaller 84 kWh batteries, but the Grand Touring model used to set the record has a much-larger 117 kWh battery capacity. 

Factors like heat and cold can also affect EV performance in a big way, so temperature was likely a concern on the record-setting day as well. The record was set traveling between St. Moritz, Switzerland and Munich, Germany, where the current temperatures are in the 50s (Fahrenheit), so that's the heat dealt with. Of course, the drivers were hand selected to make the journey. Umit Sabanci, who was part of the record-setting team, is in the business of setting records. He's previously set the record for fastest circumnavigation of the globe via scheduled flights, and most countries travelled to in 24 hours via public transportation. He's also set a previous record for the most countries visited on a single charge in an EV, so he knows how to drive steady and avoid using too much battery power.

Extracting a record-setting distance out of an EV takes a lot of skill and preparation. Traveling too slow or too fast can affect your range and ruin the attempt, so choosing roads that limit a vehicle's speed is part of the equation — highways would not be your friend in an attempt to increase range. Factors like wind, road conditions, the amount of weight in your car, and even the air pressure in your tires can affect your range. Then of course, there's terrain. Going uphill will take more energy than coasting downhill and that was certainly a factor in this record-setting run. There's a significant elevation change between St. Moritz and Munich – about 4,300 feet, which undoubtedly helped extend the Lucid's range. On a flat surface, the record would look very different. So, no, you probably aren't going to travel 700+ miles between charges anytime soon. But amongst electric cars offered to consumers in the US, the longest range is currently 512 miles. That range is available via, you guessed it, the Lucid Air Grand Touring.