Electric vehicles close to ‘mass adaption’ 

Electric vehicles are close to the “tipping point” of rapid mass adoption thanks to the plummeting cost of batteries, experts say.

Global sales rose 43% in 2020, but even faster growth is anticipated when continuing falls in battery prices bring the price of electric cars dipping below that of equivalent petrol and diesel models, even without subsidies. The latest analyses forecast that to happen some time between 2023 and 2025.

Transport is a major source of carbon emissions and electric cars are vital in efforts to fight the climate crisis. But, while they are already cheaper to run, their higher purchase price is a barrier to mass uptake. 

The other key factor is “range anxiety”, but this week the first factory production began of batteries capable of giving a 200-mile charge in five minutes.

One automotive trend is moving the other direction – the rising sales of petrol-guzzling SUVs. The International Energy Agency reported earlier in January that in 2020, despite Covid-19 lockdowns cutting global emissions, pollution from SUVs increased. Furthermore, over the past decade, SUVs were the only area among all energy-related emissions that increased in high-income nations.

However, battery prices are expected to continue to plunge, suggesting even power-hungry SUVs will be going electric before long. New lithium-ion technologies being developed are creating cheaper, more energy-dense batteries, that could start being introduced mid-decade.

The Guardian