Can An Electric Car Tow a Caravan?
With more than 500,000 caravans in use across the UK and more than 750,000 electric cars on UK roads – and numbers growing every week – what are the challenges facing caravanning in the UK as we switch over to electric?
As more people switch over to electric vehicles, car leasing comparison site LeaseLoco looks at the challenges caravanners could face in the future.
For starters, can electric cars tow a caravan?
The short answer is yes, but it can get a little complicated, so don’t attach that caravan just yet. The problem is that towing can obviously limit a vehicle’s performance (electric cars not least of all), and only a handful of electric cars are actually legally permitted to tow.
So some electric cars are capable of towing caravans. However, not all electric cars are designed for towing due to factors such as the weight of the caravan and the car’s towing capacity. It is important to check the manufacturer’s specifications to determine if an electric car is suitable for towing a caravan. Additionally, some electric cars may require modifications to the charging system or the addition of a towing package to safely tow a caravan. Nonetheless, there are several electric car models available in the market that are specifically designed and certified for towing caravans. Which we will explore later.
How Does Towing Affect Electric Driving?
Towing a trailer simply isn’t something that the majority of electric cars are designed to do. It’s just not at the top of the priority list. The weight of an electric car is one of the main reasons for that. The battery itself can weigh quite a bit, so due to that and other mechanical factors, electric vehicles tend to weigh more than standard cars, which means that all of their components (e.g. brakes, suspension etc.) are already under more pressure even without the added weight of a caravan or trailer.
Another issue can be brake pressure and what happens when slowing down. A lot of electric vehicles use what’s called regenerative braking, whereby braking puts energy back into the battery, or braking happens automatically when you lift your foot off the accelerator. This can then have an unwanted effect on any trailer that’s being towed. An excess of kinetic energy created by the car and trailer together also has the potential to damage the powertrain.
How Many Electric Cars Are Legally Approved to Tow?
Unfortunately, whether an electric car can tow a caravan or a trailer is a very different question to whether it can legally tow a caravan or trailer. Because although many electric cars have no real mechanical issues with towing, only a select few are ‘type-approved’ and legally certified to do so.
Before a new car is launched, it has to pass through what’s called ‘homologation’. This is pretty much a testing process by the relevant authorities to ensure that the car meets all the legal requirements to be registered to tow on the road.
Sadly, most manufacturers haven’t put their electric cars through the homologation process, and the reason for that isn’t the most innocent. Basically, an electric car’s range and efficiency would have to decrease if the manufacturer sought approval for towing, which wouldn’t exactly look good for them.
Most consumers care more about range than the ability to tow. So you can see where the problem arises. The important thing is not to be tempted to ignore the rules and go on to tow anyway. The consequences can be severe if you do, such as having both your warranty and car insurance invalidated, not to mention the possibility of a heavy fine if you’re pulled over by the police or involved in a collision.
Range Anxiety: How Far Can an Electric Car Tow a Caravan?
Another potential issue is the range. Most electric vehicles will only travel for a couple of hundred miles on a single charge of their battery anyway. But now imagine that you’re hauling a great big caravan on the back of one, and you can imagine how the range might go down by a fair bit. The general rule of thumb: when towing, an electric car’s regular range will be reduced by up to 50%.
The Best Electric Cars for Towing a Caravan
Only a certain number of electric cars are legally certified to tow and, of those that do, some either don’t have a very generous towing capacity or they have to sacrifice a lot in the way of speed and handling for the pleasure.
Each electric vehicle is rated to tow a different amount of weight, so always check the weight of what you’ll be towing against the capacity of the car. And just to clarify, the specified weight is for the weight that the car is carrying, not including any passengers in the actual car.
Most electric vehicles that are suitable for towing can tow anywhere between 1500kg and 2500kg worth of weight. This means that while most cars can tow, they aren’t capable of towing all caravan types.
All of the following have been legally approved for towing:
Polestar 2 (Towing Capacity 1,500kg)
Genesis GV70 Towing Capacity 1,800kg)
BMW i7 (Towing Capacity 2,000kg)
BMW iX (Towing Capacity 2,500kg)
Audi e-Tron (Towing Capacity 1,800kg)
Tesla Model 3 (Towing Capacity 1,000kg)
Hyundai IONIQ 5 (Towing Capacity 1,600kg)
Mercedes-Benz EQC (Towing Capacity 1,800kg)
What About Hybrids?
If fully-electric cars aren’t quite to your taste, then a hybrid could be worth looking into, as some of these are capable of towing a caravan as well (both the plug-in and non plug-in varieties).
In case you didn’t know, hybrids are basically part-electric vehicles which come with at least one electric motor as well as an internal combustion engine (i.e. meaning diesel or petrol).
They’re probably a safer bet than fully electric vehicles when it comes to towing, actually. That’s because plug-in hybrids aren’t subject to the same worries regarding range and regenerative braking, therefore putting less strain on the vehicle’s motor and transmission.
And the good news is that some do allow you to drive around 25 miles on pure electric power alone, meaning if you want a vehicle with some zero-emission range but with a normal engine for those long-distance trips, then a hybrid is the way to go. The same 50% range rule applies when towing.
Here are some of our top hybrid picks:
Land Rover Range Rover Sport (Towing Capacity 3,000kg)
Volvo XC60 Twin Engine/Recharge (Towing Capacity 1,600kg)
Volkswagen Golf GTE (Towing Capacity 1,600kg)
Summary
Whilst it’s a fact that the majority of electric cars on the market today aren’t legally permitted to tow a caravan (in fact, most aren’t legally permitted to tow any trailer at all), the range of electric cars on offer is expanding at a rapid rate, particularly with the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars on the horizon.
As such, it’d be reasonable for you to expect more (and more affordable) electric cars capable of towing caravans to pop up within the next few years.
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