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All 15 electric vehicles in AUTOBEST’s 2026 ECOBEST Challenge continued moving after their dashboards indicated zero charge or zero range. They traveled an average of 10 miles (16 km) before stopping, with results ranging from 0.6 miles (1 km) for the Xpeng P7+ to 19.9 miles (32 km) for the Leapmotor B10. The test shows that an empty reading does not necessarily mean the car will stop immediately, but the distance varied widely and should not be treated as dependable reserve range.
All 15 electric vehicles in AUTOBEST’s 2026 ECOBEST Challenge kept moving after their dashboards showed zero range or 0% charge, traveling an average of 10 miles (16 km) before they stopped. The gap between models was substantial: the Leapmotor B10 managed 19.9 miles (32 km), while the Xpeng P7+ traveled just 0.6 miles (1 km), according to the test results reported by InsideEVs.
For the test, automotive journalists drove production-spec EVs in convoy on a route near Milan, Italy, covering city streets, country roads and highways. Drivers switched cars every 19 miles (30 km) to reduce the effect of individual driving styles. Each car carried only its driver, ran in its standard mode rather than Eco mode, and had climate control on and tires set to the recommended pressures. Temperatures were between 68 and 77°F (20–25°C).
The last part of the run took place at Quattroruote’s Vairano proving ground. When a vehicle showed either zero remaining range or 0% battery charge, the driver continued until it could no longer move under its own power. The organizers measured the distance from that point to the stop. The Leapmotor B10 led at 19.9 miles, followed by the Tesla Model Y at 19.3 miles (31 km). The Xpeng P7+ stopped after 0.6 miles. The reported average across all 15 vehicles was 10 miles.
A Zeekr 7GT served as the support vehicle. Its vehicle-to-load (V2L) function let the team draw power from its battery to get stopped vehicles moving again, rather than relying on a dedicated EV roadside-assistance van. The results describe how far each tested car traveled after its dashboard reached the test’s empty threshold; they do not establish a guaranteed distance for other cars or driving conditions.
Why Empty Readings Vary by Model
The test matters to drivers because a zero reading can appear before a vehicle is physically unable to move, but the remaining distance is not consistent across models. In this test, the difference between the longest and shortest reported distances was nearly 20 miles. That is a meaningful gap for someone deciding whether to continue toward a charger, but it is not a safe basis for planning a trip.
Drivers should treat the displayed range as a warning to find a charger, not as a promise that a fixed reserve remains. The distance after zero can depend on the vehicle and conditions, and the test’s results cannot predict what an individual car will do on a different route. Continuing after the warning may leave a driver stranded, particularly if the nearest charger is not actually within the car’s remaining capability.
The figures also should not be read as a direct measure of battery health or reserve energy. The test measured distance traveled after the warning, not the amount of usable energy left in each battery when the display reached zero. The longer run by one model does not show that it had a proportionally larger energy reserve.
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How EVs Define Zero Charge
An EV’s range estimate and its battery state-of-charge display are related, but they are not necessarily the same measurement. The range figure estimates how far the remaining usable energy may take the car. The battery percentage indicates estimated charge. According to the InsideEVs report, those displays can reach zero at different times: a vehicle may show 0% while still estimating some miles of range, or show zero range before its charge display reaches 0%.
Vehicles also retain a protective battery buffer. As charge falls, battery-cell voltage declines; the car limits or cuts power before the cells are discharged to a level that could damage them. That means a dashboard reading of zero does not necessarily mean the battery pack is literally empty. It does not mean, however, that all the remaining energy is available to the driver as a predictable reserve.
InsideEVs cited a separate range test in which a Tesla Model 3 still displayed 2 miles (3.2 km) of estimated range when its charge reached 0%, then traveled another 31 miles (50 km). That example comes from a different test and vehicle; it should not be combined with AUTOBEST’s 15-car results as though the tests used the same conditions or measurement method.
“The 15 tested EVs averaged another 10 miles (16 km) after their dashboards showed empty.”
— AUTOBEST ECOBEST Challenge results, as reported by InsideEVs
Limits of the Remaining-Miles Data
The published results, as described by InsideEVs, give the distance traveled after zero but do not provide the usable energy remaining at that point or the speed each vehicle maintained afterward. Without those details, the results cannot show why one vehicle traveled farther or how much battery energy remained in each car.
The report also does not establish that the same distances would occur with different temperatures, speeds, routes, loads or battery conditions. The test included a defined set of production-spec vehicles and a particular route and setup. It is not clear from the supplied results whether every vehicle reached the threshold at precisely the same kind of warning, since the test used either zero remaining range or 0% charge as the trigger.
For those reasons, the nearly 20-mile spread is a comparison of outcomes in this test, not evidence that one model holds 32 times as much reserve energy as another. The report’s comparison of the Leapmotor and Xpeng distances is about miles traveled after the warning only.
What Drivers Should Do at Zero
A driver whose EV reaches zero range or 0% charge should seek a safe place to stop and arrange charging or roadside help rather than relying on the test average. If a charger is nearby, whether the car can reach it depends on the specific vehicle and conditions; the AUTOBEST results do not guarantee arrival. Drivers should follow their vehicle’s instructions and use its navigation or roadside-assistance features where available.
The reported test establishes a useful comparison across 15 models, but the published figures leave questions about remaining energy and the conditions during each final stretch unanswered. Further results that include those measurements would help explain the differences. Until then, the practical takeaway is limited: some EVs can travel a distance after their displays reach zero, but the amount varies and should not be counted on as usable trip range.
Key Questions
How far did the EVs travel after showing empty?
The 15 vehicles averaged 10 miles (16 km) after their dashboards showed zero range or 0% charge. Results ranged from 0.6 miles (1 km) for the Xpeng P7+ to 19.9 miles (32 km) for the Leapmotor B10.
Does 0% mean an EV battery is completely empty?
Not necessarily. The report says EVs retain a protective buffer and cut power before the battery cells are discharged to a potentially damaging level. A 0% display is not a promise that the car can keep driving a particular distance.
Why did the tested cars travel different distances?
The published results report the distances but do not include the usable energy remaining at the zero point or each car’s speed afterward. They therefore do not explain what caused the gap between models.
Can I use the 10-mile average to reach a charger?
No. The average describes 15 vehicles under the test’s conditions, not a guaranteed reserve for any individual EV. Drivers should treat a zero reading as a warning and seek charging or assistance rather than plan around the average.
Source: insideevs.com
