Ford CEO Ignorant of Electric Cars, But It's Clear They Are a Threat to Cheap Small Cars

At a group shareholder event, Ford CEO Jim Farley expressed his complete lack of knowledge about current industry developments. He was referring to the imminent emergence of a wave of new electric cars in the United States, with impressive ranges ranging from 600 to 800 km, according to information relayed by The Verge. These vehicles would all be equipped with batteries of more than 100 kWh, and some, like the Ram 1500 EV pickup, could even reach 229 kWh.

He said larger batteries would be needed for longer ranges, and he highlighted their size and weight, calling them "huge". In fact, some of these batteries weigh as much as a gas-powered car.

Jim Farley expressed a specific observation, as the batteries in electric cars are increasing in size, which also translates into an increase in the size of the cars themselves. Although the US market has some extreme quirks that are not as common in Europe, we are also seeing a trend towards large and heavy batteries being installed on our side of the ocean.

To deliver acceptable battery life, there's no other option than a big, heavy battery

The basic reason behind all this is quite simple. Due to the current state of technology, both in terms of the efficiency of cars and lithium-ion and lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, it is not possible to offer an autonomy really satisfying outside urban or semi-urban areas for the majority of the public.

To achieve a range of 300 km on the highway, there is no magic solution, most manufacturers must use large capacity batteries, which leads to their weight and bulk.

For example, the BMW iX is equipped with a 111.5 kWh battery and the new BMW i7 with a 105.7 kWh battery. Another example is the Mercedes EQS SUV, which has a usable battery with a capacity of 108.4 kWh. And it's not just about luxury brands with hulking SUVs. Compact models such as the Volkswagen ID.3 and CUPRA Born manage to offer an acceptable range thanks to a usable battery of 77 kWh.

Almost all manufacturers avoid disclosing the weight of their batteries, but in general it is estimated that a 75 kWh battery weighs around 350 kg on average. In the case of a Tesla Model 3 Long Range with an 80 kWh battery, the weight would be around 490 kg.

A 200 kWh battery, similar to that of the GMC Hummer EV, weighs just over 1,300 kg. There may be variations from brand to brand and depending on whether the weight of the battery alone is taken into account or whether auxiliary systems such as cooling are included, but the general conclusion remains the same: the more the capacity of the battery, the greater its weight.

This situation is not sustainable. Cars are getting bigger and batteries bigger. At first glance, this does not seem to be the most efficient solution, given the desire to promote the energy efficiency of electric vehicles. Moreover, it gives the impression that the pollution due to harmful emissions and greenhouse gases is simply replaced by another form of pollution, related to the extraction, the refining of raw materials and the manufacture of batteries.

Furthermore, heavier vehicles inherently generate more pollution than lighter vehicles, even when they are electric. All vehicles produce various types of emissions, including fine particles from tire and road wear, as well as brake dust (even though electric cars use their brakes less often, they still use them).

In addition, the heavier the car, the more wear it will cause, which will lead to more fine particle emissions. Indeed, the previous proposal for the Euro 7 standard, which aimed to limit these particulate emissions for electric cars, was probably rejected as it is by eight countries.

It's not ecology, it's economy

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford.

While Ford, through Jim Farley, isn't the first automaker to voice concerns over battery size, it's also been criticized for the Ford F-150 Lightning's 131 kWh battery. Some Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota, Mazda and, recently, Honda believed that, given the current energy density, a 100 kWh battery was not an environmentally friendly or efficient solution.

And they are right. Of course, they do not express it out of ethical concern because they are also economically motivated. Farley does not conceal this reality. "If you use these types of batteries, you won't make a profit," he admitted, before adding, "therefore it is necessary to start discussing the size of the batteries for the autonomy and the efficiency."

In addition to the fact that raw material prices are not decreasing as many thought a few years ago, or at least not at the expected rate, most manufacturers are aware that they will encounter supply problems in the future. supply of raw materials such as nickel and lithium. And with ever larger batteries, this will become a huge cost challenge.

CUPRA Born, a compact car, but a big battery of 82 kWh (77 kWh useful).

Keith Phillips, CEO of Piedmont Lithium (PLL), explained last September that there would be a real crisis to obtain the material. Lithium is a key component of lithium-ion batteries.

An average battery of an electric car uses between 8 and 10 kg of this metal, so we are not talking about small quantities. Phillips said, "We don't have enough in the world to meet global production demand by 2035." Specifically, the demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to increase by more than 500% between 2020 and 2030.

A large battery is incompatible with a small, inexpensive electric car

Under these circumstances, manufacturers will have to reduce their consumption of raw materials to avoid paying an excessive price for them. For automakers, it's a matter of survival as China controls the entire process, from mining, to battery, to refining, and in some cases, to the final vehicle. .

Until high energy density batteries are developed that can store more kWh in smaller, lighter batteries, we will continue to see the weight of cars increase. At least, in Europe, we will not witness aberrations such as the Hummer EV and its more than 4 tons. After all, not everyone will want to get a truck driver's license.

What we will see, and what we are already seeing, is the impact of this on inexpensive small cars, especially when it comes to electric cars. Customers are demanding bigger and bigger batteries.

CUPRA Born, a compact car, but a big battery of 82 kWh (77 kWh useful) and a price of more than 50,000 euros.

Sales of the current Hyundai Kona Electric, equipped with a 64 kWh battery, perfectly illustrate this trend, practically relegating those of the 39 kWh Kona to the background. As is the case with each new generation of electric models, a larger capacity battery is integrated. However, the goal is not just to increase battery capacity at all costs, but rather to guarantee practical autonomy when on the move.

Currently, the only way to provide this practical autonomy is to equip cars with the largest possible battery, which leads to higher costs for the manufacturer and therefore a higher purchase price for the consumer. However, it is difficult to justify the price of a car of similar format to a SEAT Ibiza with a real autonomy of 300 km or 400 km on the same level as that of a Porsche Macan, if not impossible for the brand.

The solution found is to offer larger and more powerful cars (electric motors can easily achieve powers of more than 600 CV) in order to justify the high price.

However, efficiency is often overlooked. Rather than looking for greater energy efficiency, that is to say minimum consumption, we generally opt for the installation of larger and larger batteries. This approach is reminiscent of that of the 1970s, during the two oil shocks.

Despite this, the vast majority of brands seem determined to follow the big battery trend, a path taken by all manufacturers.