Electric vehicle popularity is surging nationwide and globally as countries look to find ways to limit carbon emissions and incentivize consumers to make the switch to electric. As popularity increases, the purchase cost of electric vehicles is becoming more in line with ICE vehicles. This is especially true in Europe, where gas cars are actually becoming penalized.
As for lower-priced electric models, purchase prices tend to run much higher than gas-powered options, often by thousands of dollars. Offering lower-priced, entry-level electric vehicles is something the segment is still working on.
Honda‘s Vice President of Business and Sales for America, Dave Gardner, says lithium-ion EV batteries are one of the factors keeping prices high and suggests that implementing solid-state batteries could make a difference for manufacturers and consumers.
“We [Honda] don’t really believe that the current lithium-ion technology is the long-term solution. Solid-state batteries are going to be the game changer for us,” Gardner said.
Gardner said it’s his opinion that solid-state batteries will allow entry-level EVs to be priced “in the neighborhood of what a nice [ICE] vehicle costs.” Gardner also admitted that solid-state batteries likely won’t be ready for some time and that the brand’s soon-to-be-released Prologue crossover won’t feature the technology.
However, Honda recently announced a $310 million investment to help speed the development of solid-state batteries, proving the company is committed to making their inclusion in EVs a reality as soon as possible. The company’s first mass-produced EV, the E City Car, didn’t fare so well on the market, with only 3,752 sold in Europe last year.
The company had targeted sales of around 10,000 units, but a poor range and the high-ticket price have kept consumers away.
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