Winter is here, bringing snow, ice, and frigid temperatures across the United States. No matter what vehicle you drive, it’s important to be prepared for cold weather. Headquartered in Detroit, where below-freezing temperatures and frequent snowfall define the winter months, General Motors has spent more than a century building cars, trucks and SUVs that can stand up to harsh winter weather—and that includes our line of electric vehicles. When you drive a Chevrolet, GMC, or Cadillac EV, you know you’re equipped for year-round comfort and capability.
It starts with the battery. Every GM electric vehicle has an advanced thermal management system built into the battery pack. Maintaining the ideal battery temperature is key to keeping your battery functioning at peak performance for years to come. Whenever your electric vehicle is charging, the car automatically brings the battery to its ideal operating temperature, warming it up on a cold winter day or cooling it down in the heat of summer.
Imagine never getting into a cold car again. With a GM electric vehicle, that dream becomes a reality. Your car’s infotainment system allows you to pre-warm the car before you leave, making sure the interior is comfy and your heated front seats (if equipped) are toasty when you hop in. Unlike a gasoline or diesel-powered vehicle, you can warm up your EV inside a closed garage, and if you do it while you’re plugged in to your home charger, you’ll get a warm vehicle without using up any driving range. GM’s EVs even allow you to set a daily preconditioning schedule to fit your driving routine, so your car’s interior is at your perfect temperature when it’s time to go. Taking an unplanned trip? Use the remote start feature on your EV’s key or smartphone app to warm up the cabin before you hop in.
Eco Climate mode, available on GM electric vehicles, optimizes cabin heating and cooling to provide maximum comfort with minimal use of energy from the car’s battery. Eco Climate directs warm or cool air to where passengers are seated, making sure everyone is comfortable without wasting energy on unoccupied parts of the car.
GM’s EVs bring an additional benefit for cold-weather drivers: A heat pump. This innovative device collects heat that would otherwise go to waste, condensing it and using it to warm up the cabin on cold days. Heat is absorbed from the electric motors that drive the car, the electrical system, the brakes, and even from the warm air you exhale. All this energy, which would otherwise go to waste, is collected in the heat pump and used to warm the car’s interior on a cold day. The heat pump operates automatically, reducing the need to use battery power to generate cabin heat.
Winter driving tips and tricks
With all these built-in intelligent systems, your GM electric vehicle is engineered for safe, capable and comfortable driving throughout the winter months. While cold weather can impact EV range, a few tips and tricks can help you get the most out of your General Motors EV this winter:
- If you charge at home, keep your EV plugged in whenever you’re not driving. This way, you can pre-heat your car before every trip without using up battery range. The car will keep its battery full without overcharging, so you don’t need to unplug until you’re ready to drive.
- If you have a heated steering wheel and/or heated seats, use them! They keep you cozy and use less energy than heating the whole cabin with the HVAC system.
- Turn on One-Pedal Driving1, which captures energy every time you slow down and delivers it back to your car’s battery.
- Make sure your tires are inflated to the recommended pressure. Just like a gasoline or diesel-powered vehicle, your EV’s tires can lose pressure when the temperature drops. Properly inflated tires make driving more efficient no matter the vehicle.
These tips and tricks, coupled with the winter-ready engineering inside your GM electric vehicle, will help make every winter ride enjoyable.
1Feature may be limited when the battery temperatures are extremely cold or hot or when battery is near full charge. Always use the brake pedal when you need to stop immediately. See Owner’s Manual for details.