Continental says it could increase EV range by 5% with its new targeted shading glass to debut at CES

Automakers are not waiting for battery technology to improve in order to increase the range of electric vehicles. They are looking at every possible way to make their vehicles more efficient with aerodynamic performance and weight reduction. With the same mindset, Continental thinks that its latest film technology could help them make vehicles more efficient and increase the range of EVs by as much as 5.5%.

The Germany-based auto part giant is set to debut a new targeted shading glass technology at CES next month. The tech is not entirely new and has been used in production vehicles before, but mainly for sunroof applications, while Continental’s demo vehicle will be equipped with every window capable of darkening at the touch of a button.

Not only this can make a vehicle more efficient by reducing solar radiation and therefore reducing the use of air conditioning, but it also increases comfort by automatically darkening the top of the windshield based on how low the sun is on the horizon. Continental says that you can completely removed the sun-visors and combined with a smaller air conditioning units, the weight reduction can be significant enough to make a difference in efficiency.

Continental’s head of Body & Security Andreas Wolf:

“Our calculations have shown that the CO₂ emissions are reduced by a good four grams per kilometer thanks to these measures, thus increasing the range of electric vehicles by around 5.5%.”

Beyond efficiency, the glass also offers privacy since the windows can go completely dark while the car is parked.

The company says that the car it is presenting at CES will be the first test vehicle with targeted shading glass on all windows, but it will remain only for testing for now due to legal requirements. The demo is mainly to showcase the applications this technology can enable and for people to familiarized themselves with its potential.

Continental says that due to further promising developments with initial applications in the mobile area, it anticipates that prices will quickly drop, making the technology more accessible to mid-range vehicles.