What does WLTP mean for electric vehicle range?

WLTP stands for Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure. It is a laboratory test conducted on a rolling road at approximately 23°C, following a fixed speed profile with no wind, gradient or traffic. Critically for commercial vehicles, WLTP is measured at roughly a quarter of maximum payload, not fully loaded, and typically without air-conditioning running. It is a standardised basis for comparing vehicles, not a prediction of the range a loaded fleet vehicle will achieve.

Why does one electric truck claim 300 km and another 230 km?

Usually because they are quoting different measurements rather than describing genuinely different vehicles. A 300 km WLTP figure is measured at about a quarter payload in mild laboratory conditions. A 230 km figure stated at full load is the same kind of vehicle measured under a much harder condition. The vehicles may perform almost identically in service. Always check which condition a range figure refers to before comparing two models.

Do heavy electric trucks have a WLTP range figure?

No. WLTP applies to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight. Heavier commercial vehicles — a 7.5-tonne or 19-tonne electric truck, for example — fall outside its scope, so manufacturers state range as a manufacturer-declared figure, often at full load or at a stated gross combination weight. This is why heavier trucks appear to have shorter range than vans on paper: they are being measured under harsher, more realistic conditions.

What is the difference between WLTP city and WLTP combined range?

The WLTP cycle runs in phases at increasing speed. The city figure uses only the lower-speed urban phases, where an electric vehicle is most efficient and recovers the most energy through regenerative braking. The combined figure averages all phases including higher-speed running. City figures are substantially higher — one van in our directory is rated 485 km city and 313 km combined on the same battery. Combined is the more appropriate figure for route planning.

What is a realistic range for a commercial electric vehicle in Singapore?

For fully loaded commercial electric vehicles, 200 to 250 km is the realistic working norm today. Singapore conditions have offsetting effects: air-conditioning runs year-round and typically costs 5 to 15 percent of range, while dense stop-start traffic favours electric drivetrains because regenerative braking recovers energy. Most Singapore fleet routes are short enough that range is rarely the binding constraint — depot charging access usually matters more.

How does air-conditioning affect electric vehicle range in Singapore?

Air-conditioning in a tropical climate typically reduces electric vehicle range by 5 to 15 percent, because cabin cooling draws directly from the traction battery rather than from waste engine heat as in a diesel vehicle. WLTP figures are measured at approximately 23°C, generally without air-conditioning load, so a Singapore operator should expect to fall below the quoted WLTP number for this reason alone.

Buyer Education ⏱ 9 min read · Published 2026-07-27

Commercial EV range explained: WLTP vs real-world in Singapore.

Two electric trucks sit side by side. One claims 300 km WLTP. The other says from 230 km at full load. A buyer reasonably concludes the first goes further. Often it doesn't — the two numbers are measuring different things, under different conditions, and in some cases under different regulations entirely. This is the single most misread figure in commercial EV purchasing, and it is worth ten minutes before you shortlist anything.

In short. WLTP measures EV range in a laboratory at about 23 °C, roughly a quarter payload, with no air-conditioning. A full-load figure measures the same vehicle under the hardest condition. In Singapore, full payload and continuous air-conditioning can reduce a WLTP figure by 20 % to 35 %.

Key takeaways: WLTP vs full-load commercial EV range

· WLTP is a laboratory test at roughly a quarter payload, around 23°C, usually without air-conditioning. It is a fair basis for comparing vehicles to each other — not a prediction of what a loaded truck will do.
· A "full load" figure is the same vehicle measured honestly under the hardest condition. It looks worse and usually isn't.
· WLTP stops at 3.5 tonnes. Heavier trucks have no WLTP figure at all, which is why they appear to underperform vans on paper.
· "City" figures flatter. One van in our directory reads 485 km city and 313 km combined — same battery, same van.
· 200–250 km fully loaded is the realistic working norm for commercial EVs today.

What WLTP actually measures

Definition. WLTP — the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure — measures electric vehicle range in laboratory conditions at approximately 23 °C, at roughly 25 % of maximum payload, with air-conditioning generally off. It is a comparison benchmark between vehicles, not a forecast of what a loaded fleet vehicle will achieve on the road.

the older NEDC cycle precisely because NEDC had become notoriously optimistic. WLTP is more realistic — but it remains a laboratory procedure, and the conditions matter.

The vehicle runs on a chassis dynamometer — a rolling road — following a fixed speed profile in four phases of increasing speed. Ambient temperature is controlled at approximately 23°C. There is no wind, no gradient, no traffic and no cargo shifting about.

The detail that matters most to a fleet buyer, and which almost never appears in marketing material, is the test mass. WLTP does not test a fully loaded vehicle. The vehicle is tested at its mass in running order plus approximately 25% of its payload capacity. A van rated to carry 1,200 kg is therefore measured carrying around 300 kg.

Air-conditioning is generally not running during the test. In Singapore, it always is.

None of this makes WLTP dishonest. It is a standardised, repeatable test, and standardisation is exactly what lets you compare two vans meaningfully. The error is treating a comparison benchmark as an operational forecast.

Why heavy electric trucks look worse than they are

WLTP applies to light commercial vehicles — broadly, up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight. Above that, the procedure simply does not apply.

So a 7.5-tonne electric truck has no WLTP figure to quote. Nor does a 19-tonne one. Manufacturers in these classes state a declared figure instead, and the responsible ones state the condition alongside it — at full load, or at a specified gross combination weight.

This produces a perverse effect on a comparison table. The light van quotes a lab figure at quarter load. The heavy truck quotes a real figure at full load. The van looks dramatically better. In service the gap is far narrower than the numbers suggest, because the two figures were never measuring the same thing.

A worked example from our own directory. The JAC N75EV is a 7.49-tonne truck, and its manufacturer states from 230 km at full load. Note both qualifiers: from, meaning that is the floor rather than the expectation, and at full load, meaning the hardest case. Read casually, "230 km" looks poor next to a van's "350 km WLTP". Read properly, the truck is being described far more conservatively.

WLTP city vs combined range — the one-third gap

The WLTP cycle runs in phases — low, medium, high and extra-high speed. Quote only the low-speed urban phases and you get a "city" figure. Average all of them and you get "combined".

Electric vehicles are at their most efficient in slow urban running, because regenerative braking returns energy to the battery every time the vehicle slows. So the city figure is always the higher of the two, sometimes dramatically.

Chart comparing WLTP city versus WLTP combined range for four electric vans available in Singapore — Maxus eDeliver 7 485 km city against 313 km combined, Qingling EQ2 515 against 350, Maxus eDeliver 5 489 against 339, Citroen e-Berlingo 492 against 354 — showing range drops of 28 to 35 percent between the two figures — WLTP city against WLTP combined for four vans in the EVhubs directory. Same vehicle, same battery — the figure falls by 28 % to 35 % depending which phase of the test cycle is quoted.

Real figures from vehicles listed on this site:

Vehicle	WLTP city	WLTP combined	Difference
Maxus eDeliver 7	485 km	313 km	−35%
Maxus eDeliver 5	489 km	339 km	−31%
Qingling EQ2	515 km	350 km	−32%
Citroën ë-Berlingo	492 km	354 km	−28%

A third of the range disappears between the two columns, on the same vehicle with the same battery. If a supplier quotes you one number without saying which it is, ask.

How Singapore’s climate and traffic affect EV range

Three local factors pull in different directions.

· Air-conditioning costs you range. It runs year-round here, and in an EV it draws directly from the traction battery — there is no waste engine heat to borrow. Expect to give up somewhere in the region of 5 to 15%. WLTP does not account for this.
· Stop-start traffic helps. Every deceleration returns charge. Congestion that punishes a diesel is comparatively kind to an electric drivetrain, which is why the city figure is the higher one.
· Route lengths are short. Singapore is roughly 50 km end to end. A great many fleet duty cycles never come close to the limits of a 200 km vehicle, which is why range is frequently not the binding constraint at all.

In practice, the constraint that decides most Singapore fleet electrification projects is not vehicle range. It is depot charging access and electrical capacity — whether you can get sufficient power to the vehicles overnight, and what the grid connection at your site will support.

4 questions to ask commercial EV suppliers in Singapore

Four questions that make a quoted range figure meaningful:

· Is that WLTP, or a manufacturer-declared figure? If it is above 3.5 tonnes, it cannot be WLTP.
· City or combined? Assume city unless told otherwise — it is the more flattering number and the more commonly quoted.
· At what load? WLTP is about a quarter payload. Ask what the figure looks like fully loaded.
· Was air-conditioning running? Almost certainly not. Budget for it.

A supplier who answers all four plainly is worth more of your attention than one quoting the largest available number.

How EVhubs publishes commercial EV range figures

We take the figures from each manufacturer's own specification sheet and keep the conditions attached to them:

· Where a manufacturer publishes both city and combined, we show both.
· Where the load condition is stated, we state it — which is why the JAC reads "from 230 km (N75EV at full load)" rather than a bare number.
· Where a figure is not published, the listing says so rather than estimating.

Ranges remain subject to homologation for Singapore LTA Vehicle Type Approval, and real-world results vary with load, route, temperature and driving style. We publish specifications, not promises.

Commercial EV range explained: WLTP vs real-world in Singapore.

Key takeaways: WLTP vs full-load commercial EV range

What WLTP actually measures

Why heavy electric trucks look worse than they are

WLTP city vs combined range — the one-third gap

How Singapore’s climate and traffic affect EV range

4 questions to ask commercial EV suppliers in Singapore

How EVhubs publishes commercial EV range figures

Related reading for Singapore fleet buyers

Electric truck buyer’s guide 2026

Singapore EV grants tracker

Are electric vans worth it in Singapore?

Compare the figures yourself