People love living in Minnesota for the beautiful nature and seasons, our amazing culture, a great place to raise a family, and our increasing developments in transportation services.
Minnesotans work hard and play hard. That means we have to endure the toughest of many seasons and know how to enjoy the most of them.
So how do you survive a Minnesota Winter with an electric vehicle? Dive in and take a look:
General (All Electric Vehicles)
Reduced Range
Colder temperatures will reduce the range on an electric vehicle beyond EPA estimates, including how much energy the battery can store. During longer trips, this may require you to charge the vehicle more often in Winter than in Summer. If an electric vehicle drops to zero charge, the only solution is to tow the vehicle to a charging location, so make sure you have enough range to complete your trip or get you to a nearby charging location. Find nearby charging locations on the PlugShare App.
Verify Range
The range on the app is estimated, so it’s important that the vehicle range is verified after a few minutes, giving the car time to update the battery demand. If the range is below what is needed for the trip after the car is given a few minutes to adjust contact us for an adjustment/refund or to find a new vehicle.
Maximize Range / Conserve Energy
To maximize your range and conserve energy, turn down the heat, turn down the fan, unplug all electrical devices, and drive in regenerative mode. Additionally, avoiding fast acceleration and speeding will dramatically reduce the battery demand.
Warm Up Faster
Electric vehicles will heat up faster, providing faster support to defrost the vehicle.
Vehicle Specific
All Season Tires
All vehicles are equipped with all-season and/or all-weather tires.
Winter Gear
All vehicles come with ice scrapers. Locate Snow Emergency parking procedures in the in-car Trip Tips guide, located in the drivers-side door pocket.
Sanitizer Features
All vehicles include alcohol wipes to kill seasonal germs. Additionally, all vehicles undergo strict cleaning schedules to ensure cleanliness
Charging Ability
All Evies can be charged at any available green EV Spot Charger, providing a $4 Drive Credit when the trip is ended with vehicle properly charging. Find additional networks via the Plugshare App and other network payment cards in the glovebox when charging is needed while out and about.
Front Wheel Drive
All electric vehicles are front wheel drive. This helps reduce battery demand by only powering the front wheels and not all four.
Auto On/Off Headlights
All electric vehicles have auto on/off headlights, reducing the risk of a dead battery. Leaving the setting to automatically turn on/off in each vehicle reduces issues for future members.
City-Specific Winter Parking Restrictions
Snow Emergency
Each City has separate on-street parking procedures during a Snow Emergency. Learn how to get notified, stay alert, and general procedures here.
On-Street Parking
Nearly every city has different on-street winter parking restrictions. Depending on where you are, there may be on-street parking bans during winter months; some as minimal as odd/even, others limiting overnight parking, and others banning on-street parking entirely. Remember carshare vehicles must follow the same on-street rules as personally-owned vehicles, including parking restrictions.
Organizational Policies & Procedures
Get a $10 Drive Credit for Saving an Evie
Do you see an Evie at risk of ticket/tow? Save it and get $10 Drive Credit. This includes Evies during a Snow Emergency, temporary road closures, hooded parking meters, etc. Email us at info@hourcar.org with a photo of the Evie in violation and and we’ll add $10 credit to your account for each vehicle relocated.
