Study says EV battery pricing could plunge by 70% by 2025

Zach Bowman — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:44:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Technology, Hatchback, Ford, Earnings/Financials, Electric

Reuters is reporting on a new study that suggests the cost of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles could plummet dramatically by 2025. Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. conducted the study, which indicated increasing oil prices and tougher fuel economy standards could force automakers to build more electric cars, thereby increasing the scale of lithium-ion battery manufacturing by significant margins. In addition, the research predicts consumer electronics companies like Apple may lend some technology advancements to reduce costs associated with producing the battery packs themselves. All told, the study expects to see prices fall from $500-$600 per kilowatt hour to $200 by 2020 and $160 by 2025.

For example, Reuters points out that the 23 kilowatt hour battery in the 2013 Ford Focus Electric is estimated to cost between $12,000 and $15,000. The McKinsey study claims that if fuel prices hold steady at $3.50 per gallon and batteries fall to the projected levels, automakers could begin to offer price-competitive electric vehicles.

The study also indicates battery manufacturers may begin to standardize cell construction and production, further reducing the cost of equipment needed to produce the packs.

Study says EV battery pricing could plunge by 70% by 2025 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ford to build battery packs in Ypsilanti, MI

Sam Abuelsamid — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 10:34:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford, Electric

At the Detroit Auto Show in January, Ford announced that it would bring production of battery packs for its hybrid and plug-in vehicles in-house by 2012, in time for the launch of its next-generation models. At the time, Ford would only say that the production facility would be somewhere in southeast Michigan without giving specifics.

According to The Detroit News, it now appears that the packs will be produced at the site of the defunct Rawsonville plant in Ypsilanti, MI. The facility had previously manufactured a variety of components, including alternators, fuel pumps, injectors and wiper motors. Rawsonville had been included in the Visteon spin-off in 2000, but was later re-absorbed into Ford as part of Automotive Components Holdings when Visteon was struggling to avoid bankruptcy. Ford tried and failed to sell the facility. ~~and it has been closed for several years.~~ ~~In recent weeks demolition work has been ongoing at the site, perhaps in preparation for new construction.~~ (Wrong plant, the Rawsonville plant is a couple of miles away from another ACH plant being demolished.)

Ford's battery packs are currently assembled by Delphi using cells from Sanyo. the automaker will continue to source cells from suppliers while building the packs and battery management systems itself.

When Ford made its original announcement in January, it said the combination of battery and hybrid vehicle production could create 1,000 new jobs in the area. That would certainly be welcome news to the region, which has been particularly hard-hit by the current recession. A Ford spokesperson declined to comment on the plant location, except to say that an announcement would be forthcoming.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Report: Ford to build battery packs in Ypsilanti, MI originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Apr 2010 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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