A Remark on the Competition Between Electric Vehicle Sizes and Battery Sizes: The Case of a Bigger Truck, a Lambda, and a Chevy
The race to cram heavier batteries into bigger and bigger electric vehicles hit a speedbump today when a major automobile CEO asked why.
Ford is about to launch an electric SUV, as well as a range of electric vehicles, including a pony car, truck, and van.
To be sure, Farley’s beef with battery sizes isn’t really about safety or the environment but, rather, about cost. Heavier batteries are more expensive to manufacture and tend to squeeze profit margins. Which is why I can only give him partial credit for coming to the realization about America’s battery obesity epidemic.
Heavier vehicles are deadlier, too. Pedestrians and cyclists are more likely to die when struck by a larger vehicle like a Ram 1500, than when struck by a bigger vehicle like a Toyota corolla. The large trucks are more likely to hit someone on the head or torso than a car, which is more likely to hit someone in their legs.
The Road to Zero: How Much Fuel Should We Give to the Inclusive Future of EVs? Revisiting Farley’s Uncertainty on the Size of the Batteries
If you have those kinds of batteries, you won’t make money. “So we’ve got to start talking about the size of batteries for the range, the efficiency.”
I am happy that he concluded about the instability of EV battery sizes. If it leads to smaller, more efficient batteries, that’s a good thing. Did he arrive at the realization exactly as I would have liked? Of course not. I am not going to begrudge the journey he is on. There’s still time left.
When confronted with the issue of cash burn, Farley said they wanted to learn about the fitness cycle between getting data off the vehicle, changing the software and sending it back to the vehicle. That is the most important thing to us.
But investors were still skeptical about Ford’s plan to continue to burn piles of cash as it competes with dominant players like Tesla and China’s BYD, which produces several low-cost EVs for the Chinese market. Ford’s executives stressed that software revenue, from expenses like subscription to hands-free driving features and through its Ford Pro division, should help bolster its profit margins.
Field said that the numbers 350 and 300 mix city and highway driving speeds, along with super-fast charging. We would like to push that energy even lower.
The vice president of electrification said that squeezing more efficiency out of less capacity is what will be achieved. He explained that a 150kWh battery can produce 300 miles of range and a smaller 100kWh battery can power a vehicle for 350 miles of range. A lot still depends on the size of the vehicle and the efficiency that can be achieved through improved aerodynamics, for example.
The next-gen battery for Ford will be made using a chemistry the company claims will be more durable, faster charging, and more affordable than its current line of EVs.