A media test showed that "charging the Xiaomi SU7's 73.6 kWh battery required 87.86 kWh of electricity." Why is this?

Question

Charging amount being higher than the rated capacity is not false labeling; it is affected by factors such as discharge rate, depth of discharge, and battery management strategies.

Accepted Answer

First, let's state the conclusion: This is not "reverse false labeling," nor will it result in extra electricity costs; it is a truthful reflection of actual charging and discharging amounts.
To explain this clearly, we first need to introduce a concept: there is a difference between actual "electricity" (including charging and discharging amounts) and the battery capacity stated in product announcements. Actually, the stated capacity is determined through testing and is not a fixed value.
The industry generally uses 1C or 1/3C to label battery capacity. This "1C" or "1/3C" refers to the "discharge rate," which indicates "how fast (at what multiple rate) the battery is discharged":
1C means a fully charged battery is discharged to empty using a constant current in 1 hour.
1/3C means a fully charged battery is discharged to empty using a constant current in 3 hours.
According to regulatory requirements, the Xiaomi SU7 announcement declared the battery capacity based on the 1C standard, making the battery capacity of the Xiaomi SU7 Standard Edition 73.6 kWh. When discharged at 1/3C, the Xiaomi SU7 Standard Edition can discharge 76.8 kWh. As seen, depending on the discharge rate, the same battery can discharge different amounts of electricity. Meanwhile, in daily operating conditions, the discharge rate is lower, allowing the battery to discharge more electricity and achieve more mileage.
Regarding charging, there are even more influencing factors: First, to ensure that the battery level meets standards when new cars are delivered to users, the actual amount charged will be higher than the stated capacity; second, due to differences in depth of discharge, charging current magnitude, and battery management strategies, the actual amount charged may vary and could potentially charge more electricity.
Of course, everyone doesn't need to understand the principles in detail. It can be simply understood that under gentle charging and discharging conditions, the amount of electricity that can be charged and discharged can be greater compared to the stated capacity, without worrying about incurring extra electricity costs. Additionally, the energy consumption displayed on the Xiaomi SU7 vehicle side is the actual energy consumption, unrelated to the charged amount or stated capacity, and there is no case of reverse false labeling.

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