The recovery of kinetic energy (KER) in electric vehicles was analyzed and characterized. Two main systems were studied: the use of regenerative brakes, and the conversion of potential energy. The paper shows that potential energy is a potential source of kinetic energy recovery with higher efficiency than the traditional system of regenerative brakes. The study compared the rate of KER in both cases for a BMWi3 electric vehicle operating under specific driving conditions; the results of the analysis showed that potential energy conversion can recover up to 88.2%, while the maximum efficiency attained with the regenerative brake system was 60.1%. The study concluded that in driving situations with sudden and frequent changes of vehicle speed due to traffic conditions, such as in urban routes, the use of regenerative brakes was shown to be the best option for KER; however, in intercity routes, driving conditions favored the use of potential energy as a priority system for KER.

A new method to evaluate the energy consumption and driving range of electric vehicles running on intercity routes is proposed. This method consists of a hybridization of a predictive method and the application of online information during the driving run. The method uses specific algorithms for dynamic conditions based on real driving conditions, adapting the calculation method to the characteristics of the route and the driving style; electric vehicle characteristics are also taken into consideration for the driving range calculation. Real data were obtained from driving tests in a real electric vehicle under specific driving conditions and compared with the results generated by a simulation process specifically developed for the new method run under the same operating conditions as the real tests. The comparison showed very good agreement, higher than 99%. This method can be customized according to the electric vehicle characteristics, the type of route and the driving style; therefore, it shows an improvement in the determination of the real driving range for an electric vehicle since it applies real driving conditions instead of protocol statistical data.