EV range cycles explained: MIDC, WLTP, EPA and CLTC

CLTC, WLTP, EPA and MIDC: What an EV Range Number Actually Means in India

MG quotes 517km of ARAI-certified range for the Hector Tomahawk EV, and the Chinese-market model it is derived from quotes 530km on the CLTC cycle. Both figures are real, both are published by the manufacturer, and neither one describes what the car will do on the Yamuna Expressway in May with five people and the air-conditioning fighting 44 degrees. Range figures are laboratory results from four different laboratories with four different rulebooks, and the most common mistake an Indian EV buyer makes is comparing two of them as though they were the same measurement. Our EVs sorted by range listing carry the cycle beside every figure for exactly this reason.

The four cycles and what each one measures

Cycle definitions from the published test procedures of each jurisdiction, accessed 14 September 2026. The last column reflects our characterisation of how the procedures differ, not a certified comparison, and implies no conversion factor between cycles.

Why MIDC is the number that counts in an Indian showroom

MIDC is the cycle behind the range on every India-certified electric car, and ARAI is the body that certifies it. The test runs on a dynamometer in two parts: an urban phase and an extra-urban phase, at speeds and accelerations that are mild compared with a real commute. Climate control is not loaded the way you load it in a Delhi June. That makes the number repeatable and comparable, which is its job. It does not make it a promise.

It is still the right number to compare cars on, because every car on sale here has one and it was produced the same way for all of them. Maruti quotes more than 500km on MIDC for the 61kWh e Vitara, Hyundai quotes up to 473km for the 51.4kWh Creta Electric, and those two figures are genuinely comparable to each other. Neither is comparable to a CLTC figure from a Chinese specification sheet.

Why CLTC figures keep turning up on Indian pages

A growing share of the cars arriving here are federalised versions of models built for China, and the specification sheets that travel with them carry CLTC numbers. The cycle weights low-speed urban running heavily and includes long stationary periods, both of which favour an electric car, so a CLTC figure lands higher than what the same car earns under Indian certification. The Hector Tomahawk pair is the clean example: 530km CLTC on the Chinese-market car, 517km once ARAI had it.

That gap is small in this instance and it is not a rule. Do not take 13km as the standard difference between the two cycles, and be wary of anybody who offers you a multiplier. The size of the gap depends on the car, the battery chemistry and where the cycle spends its time.

So what will the car actually do?

Less than the certificate, and how much less is a function of you rather than the car. Sustained highway speed is the biggest single drain, because aerodynamic drag climbs steeply above about 80kmph. Air-conditioning in an Indian summer, a full load of passengers, a roof carrier, low tyre pressures and hard acceleration all take their share. City driving with regenerative braking is where an electric car does best, which is the reverse of what petrol owners expect.

We are not going to hand you a percentage, because we have not instrumented enough cars to publish one and a number invented for the sake of having a number is worse than no number. What we tell buyers on the expert line is to work backwards from the drive they actually fear, not the drive they usually do: take the longest single leg you make without a charging stop, and check it against the certified figure with a wide margin for the conditions on that route. Our charging guides cover what to do when that margin is thin.

What We Still Don’t Know

• Whether India moves its light-vehicle certification to a WLTP-derived procedure, and on what timetable. No notification confirming a date has been published.

• How much the MIDC figure overstates real Indian range across the market. We hold instrumented figures for individual cars and will publish them per model, with conditions, rather than as a market-wide factor.

• Whether manufacturers importing China-derived models will publish CLTC and India-certified figures side by side, or quietly replace one with the other.

The ThatsMyEV Take

The reason this matters is that the range figure is doing most of the selling in India’s EV market, and it is the specification buyers understand least. A 500km badge on a showroom banner reads as a promise of 500km. It is a laboratory result from one of four laboratories, and the gap between the best-case cycle and the most conservative one is wide enough to change which car you buy. Every listing on our EV catalogue names the cycle for that reason.

The thing that will decide whether buyers stop getting caught is whether the industry keeps quoting a single unqualified number. It costs a manufacturer nothing to write "517km, ARAI certified" rather than "517km", and it costs a buyer a great deal to find out the difference in the third month of ownership, on the Mumbai to Pune run, with a family in the car.

What we would tell a buyer, as of 14 September 2026: compare cars only on their India-certified MIDC figures, ignore any range number that does not name its cycle, and plan your own driving against the longest leg you regularly make rather than the number on the sticker. If a car you like has no Indian certification yet, wait for it rather than budgeting on an international figure. Our EV learning hub has the rest of the pre-purchase checks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is MIDC range in an electric car?

MIDC range is the distance an electric car covers on the Modified Indian Driving Cycle, the laboratory procedure ARAI uses to certify range for the Indian market. It is run in two parts, an urban phase and an extra-urban phase, at mild speeds and accelerations with no climate-control load. Every India-certified electric car carries one, which makes it a fair basis for comparing cars.

What is the difference between MIDC and WLTP range?

MIDC is India’s certification cycle, and WLTP is Europe’s, and WLTP runs at higher speeds with sharper accelerations. That makes a WLTP figure tighter than an MIDC figure for the same car, though the size of the difference varies by model. The two are not convertible, so a WLTP number from a European brochure should not be compared with an Indian certified figure.

Why are CLTC range figures higher than Indian range figures?

CLTC, China’s light-vehicle test cycle, weights low-speed urban running heavily and includes long stationary periods, both of which flatter an electric car. India’s MIDC cycle produces a lower figure for the same vehicle. MG quotes 530km CLTC for the Chinese-market car behind the Hector Tomahawk EV and 517km ARAI certified for the Indian one.

Is ARAI-certified range the same as real-world range?

No. ARAI-certified range is a repeatable laboratory result, not a prediction of what a specific driver will see. Real range depends on sustained highway speed, air-conditioning use, passenger and luggage load, tyre pressure, and driving style. The certified figure remains the right number for comparing one car against another, because it was produced the same way for both.

How much less than the claimed range will my EV do?

There is no single percentage that holds across cars and conditions, and ThatsMyEV does not publish one. The shortfall is driven mostly by sustained speed and climate load rather than by the vehicle, so a car used in city traffic can come close to its certificate while the same car at 100 km/h on an expressway will not. Plan against the longest leg you drive without charging.

Which range figure should I compare electric cars on?

Compare India-certified MIDC figures, and only those. Every electric car sold here has one, produced under the same procedure, which makes the comparison fair. If a listing quotes WLTP, EPA or CLTC without an Indian figure, the car either has not been certified here yet or the seller has reached for a flattering number from another market.

What is EPA range and does it apply to Indian cars?

EPA range is the United States figure, produced by a multi-cycle procedure with adjustment factors applied to the laboratory result, and it is the most conservative of the four main cycles. It has no standing in India and appears here only on imported specification sheets. An EPA figure that looks low beside an Indian one usually reflects the method rather than the car.

Does air conditioning reduce electric car range in India?

Yes, and materially so in Indian summer conditions, because cabin cooling draws from the same battery that drives the wheels. Certification cycles do not load the climate system the way a real Indian drive does, which is one reason certified figures sit above what owners see. Pre-cooling the cabin while the car is still plugged in reduces the hit on the road.

Why do two versions of the same EV quote different range figures?

Usually because the two versions were certified on different cycles, or because the battery, wheels or specifications differ between markets. A car federalised for India can carry a different pack size or a different tyre than its Chinese or European sibling. Always check which market and which cycle a figure describes before comparing it with an Indian number.

Does India use WLTP for electric car certification?

No. India certifies light-vehicle range on the MIDC cycle through ARAI, not on WLTP. Discussion of a move to a WLTP-derived procedure has run for some time, and no notification setting a date has been published. Until one is, every India-certified range figure you see on a showroom price list is an MIDC number.

Sources

The published test procedures for MIDC and Indian certification through ARAI, for WLTP as adopted in Europe, for the United States EPA procedure and for China’s CLTC, all accessed 14 September 2026. Model figures are manufacturer claims taken from launch material: JSW MG Motor India for the Hector Tomahawk EV at 517km ARAI certified and 530km CLTC for the Chinese-market model behind it, 26 August 2026; Maruti Suzuki for the e Vitara at more than 500km MIDC; Hyundai Motor India for the Creta Electric at up to 473km. Still open: whether India adopts a WLTP-derived cycle and on what timetable, and our own instrumented figures for individual models, which will be published per car with conditions attached rather than as a market-wide conversion factor.