And I look forward to that day. But for the moment, the problems are still the same as they were when I first looked at building one forty years ago - cost of the battery, and range. Batteries have improved significantly since then, with double the life but are still very expensive and providing comparatively low range.
I don’t see much improvement in the motor. The efficiency is already very high, tech improvements seem aimed to eliminating Nd/Pr and reducing weight, affecting price and range slightly.
i doubt that there’s much scope for improving the chemistry of the Li-ion battery either. There are limitations to how much storage you can get for a chemical reaction. So it requires a quantum leap IMO, a new type of battery, cheaper, quicker recharge so that range would be less important (or greater capacity) and easier to recycle.
Yes, it’s negativity, but it’s also reality. EVs are more expensive than they were nine years ago, ICEs are cheaper (don’t know the market price for horses, anywhere from take it for free to $2m I suppose!), ICEs have a greater range and the smaller ones emit half the CO2 of an EV charged from the grid, at least according to my electricity supplier. EV’s fuel is cheaper, but they need a new fuel tank every ten years, and they aren’t cheap.
Bring on the super battery!
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