As electric vehicles build up market share, conventional wisdom suggests big, expensive batteries should convinced consumers to take the plunge. That's because 15 years ago, when EVs were a new thing, it was impossible to avoid the concept of range anxiety because the few EVs available at the time didn't go very far on a single charge. The Nissan Leaf managed only about 80-110 miles – fine for running errands and basic commuting, but it sounded too low for the odd road trip, so it wasn't a "real" car. Automakers got the message. Range anxiety has been vanquished.
But at what cost? At InsideEVs, Kevin Williams laments this situation. Exhibit A is the Chevy Silverado EV pickup he recently sampled, weighing in at 8,500 pounds, with a 170-kWh battery that cost Williams $90 to partially recharge in 40 minutes. His point is that this performance isn't helping to advance the cause of EVs, because huge batteries and lengthy, costly recharging episodes don't exactly add up to an appealing ownership experience when compared to gas vehicles. I routinely have to visit fast chargers in my area to juice up my Fisker Ocean, which packs a fairly massive 113-kWh battery and can top out at 360 miles of range. This is an expensive and time consuming practice, so I sympathize with where Williams is coming from.
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Sticker Shock At The Fast Charger
Williams' counterargument is that the industry might have overcompensated for range anxiety and is overlooking the value of smaller, cheaper batteries. I'm optimistic that the trend will adjust. When I worked in the auto industry, we discussed the concept of a "second" car EV. You have your long-range EV for when you need, you know, long range. But your everyday EV is a different animal. Why would you have a pair of 300-plus-mile EVs in the driveways when you're typically driving 50 miles or less a day?
Sales numbers also indicate that a new round of EV customers are balking at high sticker prices, so why not go back to the well and focus on buyers who are already EV savvy? Consider this: EVs have only just captured about 8 percent of the market for new cars in the U.S. The disappointing growth trajectory and the collapse of support for EVs at the federal level has automakers in The Motor City talking about how much money it's looking forward to making by selling old-school gas-powered pickups and SUVs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
I personally would be fine with a 150-mile EV that would serve my local runabout requirements, or perhaps be optimized for spirited, sporty driving. In other words, a car with a smaller and lighter battery, eliminating the need for fast charging altogether (I'd mainly plug in at home).
Toward A Second EV In The Driveway
The bottom line here is that the auto industry has a battery problem. It has trained consumers to expect EV range on par with internal-combustion vehicles, but it's effectively run out of the new customers it needs to make EVs the norm rather than a sort of sub-market in the U.S. Securing a supply of very large batteries is actually quite expensive, while manufacturing ICE engines and gas tanks is quite cheap. Everyone except Tesla is also losing money on big-battery EVs, so moving some of the vehicle mix toward smaller batteries could improve profitability, or at least cut losses.
There could also be a major benefit in such a shift. Americans who live in suburbs can have their two EVs, one with a massive long-range battery and another with a smaller powerplant. First-time EV buyers who don't live in cities will still be able to assuage their range anxiety with EVs that have 300-mile-plus potential. But importantly, city dwellers for whom EVs aren't currently a practical option will finally have some choices. Smaller, cheaper EVs with less range (but shorter recharging times, making Level 2 charging a viable option) could be their first car. If this genre is successful, it could restore growth to the EV market overall.
Back in 2010, range anxiety was certainly a thing. But the industry overcompensated. It wouldn't have achieved the market penetration is has without the big, expensive batteries, but now that a baseline has been established and growth has stalled, it might be time to give range anxiety a second chance.
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