Study: Battery costs will keep electrics-vehicles from becoming mainstream
According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, Electric vehicles are unlikely to become a mainstream phenomenon by 2020. Price is the main culprit as automakers maintain a long-term cost target of $250 per kilowatt-hour for lithium-ion batteries; the current price is between $1,000 and $2,000.
By the current price, a 20 kilowatt hour EV battery costs about $20,000 and are expected to fall to about $8,000 by 2020, but that is still not enough, according to the study which claims that consumers seek a three-year payback on EVs.
“Nobody so far has found the silver bullet,” Xavier Mosquet, leader of the firm’s global automotive practice, said. “A number of OEMs are going to invest money and not get the return unless there is a new technology or a new oil shock.”
The report also projects however that 265 of cars sold in major markets will derive some power from a form of battery, but these are mostly hybrid vehicles.
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)