If you are giving up the combustion engine and considering an electric car instead, one question above all arises: How far can I get with the Stromer? For many customers, range is the most important criterion. But for new electric cars, one property is becoming much more important.
E-cars: long-range races cost us dearly
Anyone who switches to an e-car wants to be sure that they can get from A to B without any problems – and that the battery doesn’t go flat somewhere along the way. The drug of choice against the range anxiety are batteries that are as huge as possible, which can easily cover hundreds of kilometers without having to stop charging. But this focus could be fatal for car manufacturers and customers.
This is shown by a study by the market research department BNEF, which belongs to the Bloomberg news agency. Accordingly, the average battery capacity of e-cars between 2018 and 2022 every year increased by 10 percent. It is currently 60 kWh (via Teslamag).
The problem: As the battery size increases, so does the need for critical raw materials such as cobalt, nickel or lithium – and they are expensive. If manufacturers continue to rely on large batteries for long ranges, they would Electric car costs will continue to rise in the coming years.
If the analysts are right, the e-car industry is heading towards even more expensive electric vehicles:
Even with a slower increase in battery capacity of 5 percent annually until 2030, the market research experts arrive at a Plus 50 percent of the total capacity required for the industry. However, the costs are not only rising because the batteries are getting bigger. The main problem is that the necessary raw materials are in high demand and are therefore becoming more expensive. So each additional kWh becomes twice as expensive.
Efficiency – the new supreme discipline for e-cars
A solution that car manufacturers will have to pay even more attention to in the future: efficiency. It is already more important for e-cars than for combustion engines, but it is likely to become even more important in the coming years. Because electric vehicles that use the available energy efficiently can Get more range with less battery capacity. A strong and close-knit charging network is also becoming more important.
Mercedes currently has the efficiency crown firmly under control – albeit primarily with its EQXX technology concept. Among the comparatively affordable production vehicles, Hyundai stands out with the Ioniq 6. Tesla on the other hand, like BMW, it will probably be in the future less on new best values for range. It is already evident here that the focus is shifting.
Don’t want to miss any more news about technology, games and pop culture? No current tests and guides? Then follow us on Facebook or Twitter.