Electric cars have no horsepower
The unit of horsepower (PS), which has long been outdated, is still used to indicate engine power. Even manufacturers of electric cars still like to use this currency today.
Since 1950 in Switzerland and since 1978 in Germany, the technically correct, official unit of engine power has been the watt (W) or kilowatt (kW). Nevertheless, most car manufacturers still insist on the traditional horsepower (HP). The main reason for this is obvious: a higher figure can be quoted. So 100 hp is better than "only" 73.5 kW. The change of units for the torque values from kilopond-meters (kpm) to Newton-meters (Nm), on the other hand, went very quickly, as the amounts were increased almost tenfold. So 100 Nm is better than 10.2 kpm.
Electric car drivers like to join the ranks of the particularly progressive road users. Although they emphasize the sustainability of the electric drive, in most cases they insist on the 'antediluvian' power unit of horsepower. This is almost uniformly justified with the flimsy argument: "People know horsepower, but they don't know how much a kilowatt is." While it may make sense to stick with horsepower in the case of combustion vehicles for reasons of tradition, horsepower is not at all appropriate for the drive technology of the future.
Conversion not correct
An electric motor delivers kilowatts, not horsepower. A conversion based on the amount is not only disingenuous, but also incorrect from a technical point of view. When specifying the drive power, e-car manufacturers usually limit themselves to the maximum power of the motor. The continuous output, the more important parameter for the operation of the vehicle, remains unknown. In contrast to thermal drives, the peak output of electric drives - in some cases already in the four-digit kW range - is usually only available for a short time. Finally, the performance of the battery limits the power output of the car drive. If the power storage unit becomes too hot at full load, the power electronics automatically reduce the output. This limits the speed of the car in order to conserve the battery. A direct comparison of the engine performance of vehicles with thermal and those with electric drive is therefore not accurate in several respects. In addition, 1000 kW in a car cannot be controlled by a normal human driver. And finally, it is the important task of the electronics to regulate away most of the gigantic rated power with the driving dynamics systems.
