How much horsepower does my electric car really have?

How much horsepower does my electric car really have?

The performance of electric vehicles and hybrid models is not as easy to determine as with combustion vehicles. Wolfram Rossegger, managing director of the Graz-based testing technology company KS Engineers, explains the reason for this: “The available power depends on the way in which the control system combines the individual drive sources when the driver wants to access the vehicle’s maximum performance.”

At KS Engineers, the “who’s who” of international vehicle manufacturers is on hand: companies such as Audi, BMW, Ferrari or Mercedes and Porsche are named as references. Now the Styrian testing technology pioneer, which employs a total of 600 people, has achieved a real coup: KS Engineers was the first company in the world to be accredited by the United Nations (UN) for its standard method for determining the vehicle performance of electric vehicles. “With this stamp of quality, we are not only positioning ourselves as a pioneer in the area of ​​performance measurement of electric vehicles, but also strengthening our role as a trustworthy partner for the world’s leading automobile manufacturers,” explains Wolfram Rossegger.

While roller dynamometers have previously been used to determine performance, the Graz innovation factory is solving the challenge on the basis of the R2R control technology developed in-house: To determine the drive power - somewhat simplified - speed and torque are measured on a high-tech test bench according to strictly defined criteria and the real driving performance is recorded directly on the axle. KS Engineers gains a market advantage over competitors based on the accredited testing procedure: “With regard to testing services and the precision of our products, we offer our customers the certainty that our measurement results comply with the specifications and standards of the legislative institutions,” explains Rossegger.