Quote:
Originally Posted by Taylor95
I suppose that 150 miles is sufficient for normal city driving. I will truly be impressed when they can equal the range of some trucks I know of (like 700+ miles on a 35 gallon tank). What will keep ICE appealing is the short fueling times and they are still better for long distance travel.
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ICE may always (next 50 years anyhow) be better for long distance travel.
There's no reason to build an EV with a 700 mile range because it's dumb to pay for more battery than you need. It's the single largest expense, and one of the heaviest items on the car. You want to carry the smallest battery that gets 95% of the job done. Nobody drives for 700 miles straight anyhow.
The real money is in faster charging speed. If an EV can be charged relatively quickly, then it doesn't really matter what range it has. I mean, given equal charging capabilities, a car with shorter range will add miles of range at the same rate as a car with a higher range. However, larger batteries do tend to allow higher rates of charging, as the charge limit is based on a % of battery capacity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaneajanderson
Sounds like a great reason to develop hot-swappable batteries.
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This will never be a thing. I certainly wouldn't be ok with a rando battery in my car with an unknown history. What if the pack degrades or fails at a faster rate than if you had kept the original battery?
Besides all that, the battery will be or is a stressed member of the chassis, and has cooling loops to connect. Every time you disconnect a battery, some of that coolant would leak out, potentially introduce air into the system, and increase the probability of future leaks.
Swapping batteries is not cheaper or more convenient than borrowing someone's ICE car. It solves no problems better than alternatives.