Study Finds EVs Travel Average 10 Miles After Dashboard Shows Empty
Leapmotor B10 led the test with 19.9 miles of reserve, while the Xpeng P7+ stopped after just 0.6 miles.
A recent group test of 15 electric vehicles revealed that all models continued to drive after their dashboards indicated zero battery charge, though the distance traveled varied significantly by brand.
What Happened
The findings come from AUTOBEST’s 2026 ECOBEST Challenge, conducted near Milan, Italy. Car journalists drove production-spec EVs in a convoy on a route mixing city streets, country roads, and highways. To minimize driving style variables, drivers traded cars every 19 miles (30 km), and all vehicles were set to standard mode with climate control active. Temperatures during the test ranged from 68–77°F (20–25°C).
The final phase occurred at Quattroruote’s Vairano proving ground. Drivers continued until the car could no longer move under its own power after the dashboard showed zero remaining range or 0% battery charge. The Leapmotor B10 traveled the farthest post-empty at 19.9 miles (32 km), narrowly beating the Tesla Model Y, which managed 19.3 miles (31 km). At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Xpeng P7+ stopped after covering just 0.6 miles (1 km). The average distance traveled by all 15 EVs after showing empty was 10 miles (16 km).
Why It Matters
The test highlights the variability of battery reserves among different EV models, a critical factor for drivers relying on range predictions. The source notes that a car can display 0% charge while still predicting some range, and these two metrics do not always coincide. For example, in a separate reference to a Tesla Model 3, the vehicle displayed 2 miles of range when the state of charge hit 0%, yet it traveled another 31 miles before stopping.
This data suggests that while all EVs retain a buffer to protect battery cells from damaging deep discharge, the size of that buffer is not uniform. A driver in a Leapmotor or Tesla might have nearly 20 miles of safety margin, whereas a driver in an Xpeng P7+ would have almost no cushion, potentially requiring roadside assistance even if the vehicle has a competitive total range on a full charge.
The Bottom Line
While all tested EVs retained a reserve beyond the displayed empty state, the practical distance available ranged from less than a mile to nearly 20 miles. AUTOBEST’s results table did not specify the usable energy remaining or the speed maintained after the dashboard hit zero, limiting direct comparisons of battery capacity reserves versus distance traveled.
