An ‘Equivalent’ MPG or eMPG figure is a way to ensure an ‘Apples to Apples’ comparison between electric and gasoline / diesel-powered vehicles.
One liter / gallon of petrol / gasoline, when burned in a piston engine, releases a certain quantity of energy. This energy can be used to move the vehicle. In scientific lingo, this is simply converting chemical energy to kinetic energy.
Since electric vehicles don’t burn fuel (locally), the only way to compare conventional fossil fuel-powered vehicles is to examine how much energy it took to charge its battery.
Using simple energy calculations, the amount of energy is takes to produce electricity at a centralized power plant, transport that energy to a charging point, and charge the vehicle’s battery, is divided by the number of kilometers or miles traveled using that charge.
This results in an eMPG or KM / Liter for the vehicle.
