Novel Sodium-Ion Battery-Powered EVs To Hit Chinese Streets in January
Today, most EVs use lithium-ion batteries, just like the phone in your pocket. While the battery chemistry is well-known and thoroughly tested at this point in time, the setup has weaknesses that could be addressed by alternative designs. A Volkswagen-funded Chinese automaker has a new type of battery that offers some benefits over lithium-ion batteries, namely cost and cold weather performance, but it’s unclear if we’ll see them in the United States.
JAC Motors has developed a new EV sporting a sodium-ion battery that it says has lower costs and more abundant raw materials. It’s also less dense and may not provide the same range estimates, but lower-cost EVs are what the industry needs right now.
That said, the company is owned, in part, by the Chinese government, making it unclear if anything related to JAC will make its way to North America. Yiwei, a new brand for the automaker in 2023, announced a 157-mile EV, but it’s hardly a car Americans are known to flock to, as it’s a tiny five-door hatch.
While Chinese brands and obscure battery chemistries may never become mainstream in America, this type of movement in the industry is what’s needed to drive adoption to the tipping point. EVs are entirely too expensive, and tax credit rules are confusing, making it difficult for the general car-buying public to afford an electric car and then understand how it impacts them financially going forward.
[Image: Iryna Imago via Shutterstock]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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What reality do you live in? Golf carts are expensive and don't save you money. Increased insurance and repair costs are the reality of golf cart ownership.
I ran this by my Ford Motor Company acquaintances (who work as engineers in Powertrain -- the Ford Blue™ flavor) and here are their comments, verbatim:
"• Lead-acid works just fine
• 12.6 volts is a lot, would be a big mistake to go any higher
• Gotta run, supplier is here to take us to lunch"
Does that logo say JAC?
What does that stand for--Jumbo Aggregate of Chinesium?
"EVs are entirely too expensive..."
Everything is too expensive.
I bought lunch for my three kids, 13, 10 and 10, at Wendy's the other day. No drinks, no dessert: $28.
Welcome to the Biden economy.