Buying a battery car: yes, but at what cost? Take a look at the price lists of automakers to understand that electric cars really aren’t for every budget. Unless, of course, you stop using the car for longer trips and settle for a shorter range. In short: it’s very difficult to buy a versatile electric car today without breaking the bank. But things are about to change. And maybe, let’s take a guess, this will take less time than is usually believed. Let’s try to see which scenarios are more realistic.
Experts more or less agree that the price of electric cars can compete with the prices of the respective thermal cars when two factors occur:
- Further reduction in battery cost (which has already dropped significantly over the last decade);
- Increase in sales volumes that will allow companies to develop electric cars on specialized platforms and reduce costs through economies of scale.
Cost of batteries
Let’s start from the first point. The cost of batteries. In 2013 (BloombergNef data), the cost of a lithium battery pack for electric cars was $732 per kWh. In 2021, the price dropped to $141 and last year it rose to $151.
Observers believe it could settle around $152 in 2023 and start falling again from 2024. In recent years, the decline in prices has regressed due to several factors: increased cost of raw materials, inflation, increased demand. Even with all the variables involved, it can be estimated that a battery with a capacity of 60 kW (which can guarantee good autonomy) at current prices would cost car manufacturers more than eight thousand euros. This explains why it is so difficult to equip small cars with medium-to-high capacity batteries. specialists BloombergNef however, they predict that by 2026 the cost per kWh will fall below $100 and this should continue in the following years.
More efficient and cheaper batteries
Meanwhile, technology is advancing and research is heading on several fronts. For example, the goal is to increase the energy “density” of batteries (which has already grown tremendously in the last 15 years) so that they can use smaller accumulators and reduce the weight of cars to the advantage of full autonomy.
The industry is in turmoil. Chinese giant Catl, the world’s leading supplier to the automotive industry, recently announced that the new M3p technology, which, according to leaked data, should have a density of more than 15% compared to lithium-iron, has been produced by the end of the year. phosphate batteries (Lfp) at a lower cost. One of the Achilles’ heels of electric cars today is precisely weight (20-40% higher than conventional cars), which has implications for autonomy. Therefore, making cars lighter will also have an advantage in terms of efficiency.
Another project is based on sodium-ion batteries using raw materials that are easier to find and therefore cheaper. The world’s first vehicle based on this technology was unveiled in China last month: the Hua Xianzi, a five-seat car with a range of 250 km. The reduced cost of these batteries could allow a reduction of about 10% in the final price of the car – a conditional necessity.
Rationalization of production costs
Another pressure to cut price lists will come from the increase in sales of these vehicles: the immediate adoption of platforms designed for electric vehicles and large-scale production will save on components and rationalize expenses. Purchasing and assembling components for millions of vehicles actually results in lower prices per unit produced. In addition, increased sales can result in better amortization of design and development costs. As companies take advantage of mass production, the cost of battery-powered vehicles should therefore drop gradually. On this front, Tesla has an undoubted advantage over its rivals in that it’s almost entirely focused on electric vehicles, a strategy that allows it to not have to juggle between different platforms.
Toward the popular electric car
It’s an advantage that the company uses well. In January, the American company announced a serious discount on its price lists, with discounts of up to 20%. The cost of a Model 3 in the Italian market today starts at €41,490 (but with incentives you can get it down to 36,490), a price even lower than some internal combustion engine cars in the same segment.
Tesla itself is preparing to release the Model 2, which should cost (at least according to rumors) around $25,000. While the recently announced car has yet to be unveiled, the automaker recently revealed some details about the new platform, which will save $1,000 per vehicle thanks to the reorganization of its production processes and other conveniences (seats). , for example, they will be mounted directly on the battery pack).
In any case, European homes do not sit idle. Announced by Volkswagen, the new Id.2all will hit the market in 2025 for less than 25,000 euros, so it’s not much higher than today’s internal combustion engine Polo, a car whose measurements it inherited. The newborn of the German house will have a respectable range of 450 km and a 226 hp engine, as the house declares. In the last few hours, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer has confirmed that the next Golf will be battery-only. “We will never give up iconic names like Golf, Tiguan and GTI for our brand, but we will transfer them to the electric world,” the manager told Automobilwoche. The end of an era. The electric car for everyone isn’t a reality yet, but the future is closer than you think.
Source: Today IT

Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.