A measure of an EV’s energy efficiency is to look at how many miles it can travel on 1 KWH of energy. Typical figures are in the 2 to 4 miles per KWH range. Obviously, a higher number means greater efficiency. Greater efficiency can then mean a smaller battery. A smaller battery means less weight and cost – and better efficiency.
Major vendors like GM are going in the opposite direction, building bigger, heavier, less energy efficient EVs.
General Motors has shifted its focus away from the relatively efficient but otherwise problem-ridden Bolt EV toward muscular vehicles with huge battery packs like the GMC Hummer and the coming electric Silverado. Its bet seems to be that electric powertrains won’t change the American preference for big, inefficient vehicles. This seems reasonable given that the cost of charging even electricity-guzzling EVs will almost always be lower than filling conventional counterparts with gas
Source: Electric Vehicles Have a Fuel-Efficiency Problem – WSJ
It seems many EV makers (especially in the U.S.) are going down the same path of gas vehicles – bigger and heavier – with an expectation that “batteries won’t matter much” in another decade. Instead of gas hogs, we are making electricity hogs.
