Will Electric Vehicles become More Affordable?

Electric Vehicle Batteries are considered one of the most expensive parts of an electric vehicle due to their scarcity and price of mining the minerals needed to make the battery. As a result, electric vehicles are often more expensive than internal combustion engine vehicles. In addition, with current political and economic issues, mining for nickel-and-cobalt has become even more costly, in turn creating a tremendous price tag for many electric vehicles.

To lower electric vehicle costs, many North American car manufacturers are looking for an alternative solution to nickel-and-cobalt. The use of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries (LFP) is widely used in other electric vehicle markets throughout the world, with their hub being in China. Due to the accessibility that LFP batteries would offer, North American electric vehicle automobile companies are thinking of adopting LFP batteries to lower prices of electric vehicles. However, that does come with a few other issues and consequences, making it a risky decision.

Although, the use of LFP batteries would make electric vehicles cheaper, conflictingly, it would shorten EV driving range, while also causing the North American EV market to rely further on the Chinese EV market. LFP batteries have a lower energy density than nickel-and-cobalt, meaning that the lithium iron powered batteries are mainly useful in cities and for short drives. Additionally, the North American EV market has been slowly cutting back on dependance of Chinese EV markets, as each country races to create world leading EV technology. The switch to LFP batteries is concerning EV automakers but is a solution that is being closely examined.

North American EV battery engineers of Ford, Rivian, and Tesla are trying to find a solution to making LFP batteries durable for long distances. By reworking the battery’s chemistry and design, the North American EV market hopes to be able to offer affordable EV cars that have long driving ranges, while also maintaining economic independence.

Although it is unclear what route that the North American EV market will take, however the ultimate goal is to make EV cars more affordable. Maverick Electric Vehicle Services is a market leader in serving the North American and Irish EV markets with electric vehicle charging infrastructure solutions and is excited to see the progression of the EV market as new technologies and innovations enter the marketplace.