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Home Car Advice Why Are Electric Car Batteries So Expensive?
The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that electric cars use are expensive because of the raw materials used for producing them. Metals such as nickel, cobalt, lithium, and manganese are pricey. Manufacturers mine, process, and convert these materials into chemical compounds needed for battery cells to store and deliver energy. These are the same type of batteries your mobile phone and laptop computer use, but they’re much larger and grouped together in packs for an EV.
Electric car battery manufacturers are working on substituting the more expensive commodities with cheaper ones to reduce costs without sacrificing an EV’s safety or highway-capable performance.
Simplifying battery pack design for electric vehicles may also bring additional price reductions in the long term. As with other new technologies, the initial high cost associated with the research and development required to deliver improvements to EV range and charging time becomes lower following widespread implementation.
Chris Hardesty is Senior Advice Editor for Cox Automotive. He edits and writes articles for Kelley Blue Book, advising consumers on the financial aspects of buying and selling cars, and sharing maintenance and ownership tips. His goal is to simplify complex topics to help readers make confident decisions. Chris spent nearly three decades in newspapers, including leading research departments at The Mercury News in California and Newsday in New York. After that, he was the How-to Guides Editor at The Wall Street Journal until moving to metro Atlanta. Chris has judged multiple Emmy Awards in News & Documentary categories. With two children under 10 years old, he's very familiar with the challenges of keeping minivans clean.
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