https://www.ft.com/content/7bbd9a9a-1326-11e8-940e-08320fc2a277...

https://www.ft.com/content/7bbd9a9a-1326-11e8-940e-08320fc2a277

Nissan sees 2025 as turning point for electric cars Battery vehicles will stay more expensive than petrol versions until then, says executive © AP Share on Twitter (opens new window) Share on Facebook (opens new window) Share on LinkedIn (opens new window) Save Save to myFT Peter Campbell, Motor Industry Correspondent 5 HOURS AGO 18 Electric cars will remain more expensive than petrol or diesel cars until the middle of the next decade, one of Nissan’s most senior executives has predicted. Daniele Schillaci, executive vice-president at the Japanese carmaker, said that the prices of battery vehicles and traditional cars will draw level in 2025, ending the need for government subsidies that currently support the majority of electric car sales. “We think that 2025 will be the turning point where the cost of an EV [electric vehicle] car, the same EV and internal combustion engine, will be the same,” he told the Financial Times. “That will be a turning point for the customer.” Nissan, through its global alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, is the world’s largest electric car producer, selling more than 500,000 since launching the first battery Leaf car in 2010. Carmakers across the world are pumping billions of pounds into electric technologies in order to hit increasingly stringent emissions rules. I expect, in the mid term, to see some technological revolution on the battery Daniele Schillaci, executive vice-president Volkswagen has pledged to sell 3m electric or hybrid cars a year by 2025, while Ford has said it will invest $11bn in the technology. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi will launch 12 new electric models by 2022. Yet electric sales remain less than 1 per cent of global car sales, with the costs of the cars one of the principal reasons for subdued consumer adoption. Prices for Nissan’s electric Leaf car start at £22,000, compared with its comparable petrol-engine Micra car which sells for £12,000. Yet as batteries become more advanced, electric car costs will fall. “What we know is the relationship of density of the battery and the cost is improving all the time,” said Mr Schillaci. “I expect, in the mid term, to see some technological revolution on the battery.” Battery vehicles are cheaper to run and maintain than traditional cars, with electricity cheaper than petrol and a fraction of the number of moving parts. UBS has calculated there are 35 moving parts inside a Chevrolet Bolt, an all-electric car from General Motors, compared with 167 in a Volkswagen Golf. “There are much fewer parts, and it is easier to maintain,” said Mr Schillaci. “In all, electric vehicles are much more simple than a traditional model.” Analysts at UBS have forecast that the total cost of electric car ownership, including charging costs and maintenance, will fall below that of internal combustion cars as early as this year in Europe. Subsidies, however, are still hugely important for electric sales. Recommended Dyson bets on electric cars to shake up industry Electric cars pave way to end of filling stations Musk reaches for the stars but investors grow impatient Norway, the country with the highest electric car penetration, offers generous incentives for battery vehicles, while sales in Denmark fell 60 per cent in the three months after government subsidies were removed. As sales rise, governments are also unwilling to keep incentivising purchases. The US government plans to end payouts for carmakers once they have sold 200,000 electric vehicles, while China has set a timeline for winding down its subsidy programme. Mr Schillaci said the ability to buy electric cars without the need for subsidies would be a “turning point globally”. The great battery race Play video Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2018.