> EVs tend to be significantly heavier than gas-powered or hybrid cars due to their larger, heftier batteries. The average battery for an EV on the market today is roughly 1,000 pounds, with some outliers approaching 3,000 pounds — as much as an entire gasoline-powered compact car.'
This is basically oil industry propaganda. It's like saying "the average internal combustion engine is roughly 1,000 pounds[1], with some outliers approaching 3000 pounds[2] -- as much as an entire electric compact car[3]."
EV batteries weigh more than gas tanks per unit energy but EV motors weigh less than petrol engines and don't need transmissions, exhaust and emissions controls, large water cooling systems, etc. The result is that EVs weigh around the same as ICE cars of the same size, e.g. Tesla Model 3 vs. BMW 3-series. The difference is typically less than 10-20% and it can be zero.
The premise that they weigh a lot more mostly comes from the rarity of subcompact EVs, so then people compare EVs (typically midsized cars or larger) to the lighest ICE cars (subcompacts) and it's heavier because it's bigger. Here's an ebike with a >200 mile range that weighs under 100 pounds:
There is no reason you couldn't make a subcompact EV with that range that weighs the same as subcompact ICE vehicles. But EV production is still constrained by battery production, so they put the batteries into premium vehicles, which are bigger. And then people claim that they're heavier, even though there's nothing intrinsic about that.
Moreover, newer battery chemistries with a better energy density would make them lighter. Even 20-30% improvements would make a large difference because the battery makes up such a large fraction of the weight of the car. If anyone gets a battery chemistry production-ready that uses oxygen from the air as one of the reactants, ICE cars would be without purpose.
This is basically oil industry propaganda. It's like saying "the average internal combustion engine is roughly 1,000 pounds[1], with some outliers approaching 3000 pounds[2] -- as much as an entire electric compact car[3]."
[1] e.g. https://www.cummins.com/engines/cummins-67l-turbo-diesel-202... (1070 lbs)
[2] https://www.dieselpartsdirect.com/documents/cummins-specs/cu... (3150 lbs)
[3] e.g. Fiat EV (<3000 lbs)
EV batteries weigh more than gas tanks per unit energy but EV motors weigh less than petrol engines and don't need transmissions, exhaust and emissions controls, large water cooling systems, etc. The result is that EVs weigh around the same as ICE cars of the same size, e.g. Tesla Model 3 vs. BMW 3-series. The difference is typically less than 10-20% and it can be zero.
The premise that they weigh a lot more mostly comes from the rarity of subcompact EVs, so then people compare EVs (typically midsized cars or larger) to the lighest ICE cars (subcompacts) and it's heavier because it's bigger. Here's an ebike with a >200 mile range that weighs under 100 pounds:
https://ridereview.com/products/fuell-flluid-22s
There is no reason you couldn't make a subcompact EV with that range that weighs the same as subcompact ICE vehicles. But EV production is still constrained by battery production, so they put the batteries into premium vehicles, which are bigger. And then people claim that they're heavier, even though there's nothing intrinsic about that.
Moreover, newer battery chemistries with a better energy density would make them lighter. Even 20-30% improvements would make a large difference because the battery makes up such a large fraction of the weight of the car. If anyone gets a battery chemistry production-ready that uses oxygen from the air as one of the reactants, ICE cars would be without purpose.