Why don't electric cars have a spare tire?

Most electric cars don't come with a spare tire – but why?

Spare tire. Once a given necessity on most new cars, now harder to find.

Spare tires can be useful in case of a puncture, especially when you have long trips and in rural areas.

Those full-size tires can essentially replace your flat tire. Meanwhile, space-saving spare tires – which are more common these days – are designed for temporary use just to get you to your destination; they have a speed limit since they are thinner and smaller.

However, many hybrid cars and almost every full electric car do not include either.

It's mainly about weight.

Electric cars are heavier – and adding a spare tire increases energy consumption.

Hybrid and full EV battery packs are inherently heavy, at least with current lithium-ion technology.

This begs the question for manufacturers: why include something that could reduce range of motion while increasing power consumption?

This is despite the fact that electric vehicles generally put more wear on tires due to their greater weight, leading to a shorter tire lifespan.

Due to the added weight, electric cars generally also have less payload, so including a spare tire would limit that even further.

Then, there's the obvious opportunity to reduce production costs by not including a spare tire. Simple economics.

Which electric vehicles include a spare tire?

Only a small fraction of fully electric cars include some kind of spare tire as standard, but most have only a tire repair kit.

The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y don't even have any repair tools.

Some third-party companies sell spare tires for certain electric vehicle models as an option for buyers who see one as a priority.

While full EVs that include a spare tire are: Chery Omoda E5 and Hyundai Kona Electric. /Telegraph/