SOME SOLUTIONS TO RISING COSTS
One way to cut battery costs is to shift from NMC (nickel, manganese and cobalt) to LFP (lithium iron phosphate) chemistry, which cuts out the need for pricier metals.
Volkswagen has chosen it for the “cost-sensible entry segment”, but this Chinese dominated chemistry was also used in “half” the cars that Tesla registered in Q1, boss Elon Musk said in April.
Not everyone is taking this route, though. Renault is sticking with NMC both for energy density and its better recycling properties.
Tesla is also working to industrialise bigger ‘4680’ cylindrical cells, named for their size (46mm wide and 80mm tall). It says they yield a 16% range gain and cost savings over current cells, and will be first fitted to Model Ys at its new Berlin gigafactory later this year.