The future of the electrical automobile is a matter of much guesswork. Last week at the SAE World Convention in Detroit, Kevin Layden, director of electrification programs and engineering for Ford, told the press his firm has no strategies to join the electrical automobile range race. Instead, it will present a brand-new Focus Electric with 100 miles of variety this fall. The Focus Electric presently has 76 miles of range.
“I believe today with the launch of the Focus Electric at 100 miles, it is going to satisfy a big chunk of the population,” stated Layden. “It’s going to be actually inexpensive and a step up from where we are now.” Less variety means the vehicle can use a battery pack that is smaller, lighter, and less expensive.
Last week, a survey by National Renewable Energy Laboratory was released that states that the majority of people thinking about the purchase of an electrical vehicle consider range and rate the two most important elements. The majority of said they would like an automobile with 300 miles of variety that costs less than $30,000. No such vehicle exists right now, naturally. More range expenses more money. A lower purchase rate suggests less range. There is no chance to fix up those two competing aspects.
