Where the numbers come from

Data Sources

This page explains where BEV Database gets vehicle data, which values are official source fields, which are BEVDB-derived estimates, and how missing or conflicting inputs are handled. The goal is to make the boundary between source data and model output explicit.

MethodologyEurope EV listUSA EV listRange reportContact

Primary Source Types

OEM specification pages, brochures, and press materialsUsed for official model naming, battery, body, performance, pricing, charging, and trim-level information when the manufacturer publishes it directly.
EPA and FuelEconomy.gov referencesUsed for U.S. official range and energy-use anchors. Official portal: fueleconomy.gov.
WLTP and EU regulatory referencesUsed for Europe official-cycle anchors and regulatory context. Official portal: EUR-Lex.

What BEVDB Derives Internally

Scenario-based range estimates

Mild, cold, city, highway, and combined BEVDB range values are model outputs. They are not copied from OEM or regulatory tables.

Usable battery fallbacks

When a reported usable capacity is missing, BEVDB may estimate it from calibrated nominal-to-usable relationships and mark it as an estimate.

Tool-level comparisons

Road, charging, and ownership tools can combine official data, BEVDB assumptions, and user inputs. Labels should reflect the active source instead of implying everything is official.

Full modeling logic, scenario weights, and fallback rules live on the methodology page.

Standard Public Labels

Official source value

A value published by the manufacturer or by an official regulatory source used as the primary public reference.

BEVDB estimate

A value modeled by BEV Database from official anchors, fallback logic, or calibrated internal relationships.

User input

A value entered or changed by the user inside a tool, such as annual distance, prices, route state, or garage geometry.

Tool assumption

A comparison rule or planner default used by a tool when the output depends on more than catalog data alone.

Unavailable

A field BEV Database does not currently have enough defensible source basis to publish as either official or estimated.

Market-Specific Official Anchors

Europe

Europe pages should treat WLTP values as the official anchor set and show native public outputs in kilometers. If BEVDB estimates are added, they stay explicitly tied to the Europe/WLTP side of the source hierarchy.

USA

USA pages should treat EPA values as the official anchor set and show native public outputs in miles. The USA catalog should not be presented as Europe metrics converted after the fact.

Cross-region assets may normalize values back to kilometers for a single comparison scale, but the underlying official and public-facing market units should still stay split by Europe vs USA.

Source Priority And Quality Guardrails

  • Prefer direct manufacturer or official regulatory values over third-party restatements.
  • Keep EPA and WLTP anchors region-specific rather than pretending they are interchangeable.
  • If required inputs are missing, suppress or label the estimate instead of inventing a clean-looking number.
  • When sources disagree, use the most defensible official basis and keep the BEVDB model conservative about what it derives.

Refresh And Corrections

BEV Database updates catalog entries as the underlying model list and source set evolve. If you spot a broken spec, stale pricing signal, incorrect trim mapping, or a better official source, send it through Contact. Including the car page URL and a primary source link makes review faster.