Ford CEO Jim Farley on massive EV batteries: “I have no idea what’s going on in this industry right now"

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An auto CEO came very close to saying the right thing about heavy EV batteries

Ford CEO Jim Farley got really close to saying the right thing.

www.theverge.com

“I have no idea what’s going on in this industry right now,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said during his company’s capital markets event Monday. He referenced electric vehicles coming out with 450–500 miles of range, including “a three-row crossover” announced today that was likely the new electric Cadillac Escalade.

Higher ranges will necessitate bigger batteries, he noted, adding, “These batteries are huge.”

“If you have those kinds of batteries, you will not make money,” Farley said during today’s event. “So we’ve got to start talking about the size of batteries for the range, the efficiency.”

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Roberto Dimento

· #101 · 9 d ago

sandwich-chris said:
This makes no sense, the 5 series is significantly more expensive while the Prius has three times the EV range and once depleted will get twice the mileage.

Yes, he said he's very aware of the contradictions and double the price or whatever. He doesn't care. He hates the Prius experience

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worth_fixing

· #102 · 9 d ago

CTK said:
Offering more body styles would have made the Volt even more expensive. Business wise the best move would have been to keep the pricing as is (remember that it started around $38K) and just make it a crossover. Repeat after me, Americans don't like small cars.

they could have been really cheap if you part share the crap put of that platform all while offering the same sausage in 6 different lengths

yeah i get it; gotta make sure you offer very large vehicles, which GM definitely does, but this was the Volt; a small battery EV with a range extender. It could have been so much more successful than it was.

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CTK

· #103 · 9 d ago

worth_fixing said:
they could have been really cheap if you part share the crap put of that platform all while offering the same sausage in 6 different lengths

yeah i get it; gotta make sure you offer very large vehicles, which GM definitely does, but this was the Volt; a small battery EV with a range extender. It could have been so much more successful than it was.

GM offered a wide range of small cars for damn near half the Volt's price and they still all failed. People don't want American small cars. There's nothing GM could have done to save the Volt.

I do wish GM had upscaled its powertrain concept to more relevant body styles and segments... but I don't knock them for killing off a car people didn't want. Plus the Volt lead to the much better Bolt you keep ignoring for some reason.

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ItsHabanero

· #104 · 8 d ago

CTK said:
People don't want American small cars.

I'd rearrange this sentence to say the following:

"American people don't want small cars."

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Nealric

· #105 · 8 d ago

ItsHabanero said:
I'd rearrange this sentence to say the following:

"American people don't want small cars."

But those that do tend not to want American small cars.

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CTK

· #106 · 8 d ago

I approve both amendments.

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mittencuh

· #107 · 8 d ago

I love lamp.

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ItsHabanero

· #108 · 8 d ago

Nealric said:
But those that do tend not to want American small cars.

You could also say that "People who want American cars don't want small cars."

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Mr. Bigglesworth

· #109 · 8 d ago

The big three rule at trucks and SUV's, that's always been what they're good at. Outside of the Mustang and Camaro/Corvette their cars have largely sucked and it left a bad taste in Americas mouth that'll take decades to get rid of.

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CTK

· #110 · 8 d ago

I feel like the cars were OK, but all the stuff around them forced them out of existence. Decades of ****ty reputation momentum, low price expectations and higher costs than the competition (aka squeezed profits). I remember the non stop firesales of **** like Ford Fusions going for $10K off all day. Unsustainable.

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tejlab

· #111 · 8 d ago

Honestly the more we go the more I get convinced plug in hybrids are the future and not EVs. They have electric range that is long enough for daily EV only use but the gas motor kicks in for road trips with an overall fuel economy that is double comparable gas only cars. Where is the compromise?

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GoFaster

· #112 · 8 d ago

tejlab said:
Honestly the more we go the more I get convinced plug in hybrids are the future and not EVs. They have electric range that is long enough for daily EV only use but the gas motor kicks in for road trips with an overall fuel economy that is double comparable gas only cars. Where is the compromise?

Still needs oil changes, still needs air filters, spark plugs, transmission, etc and it still has a "check engine" light. You're buying two powertrains up front instead of one. Ends up being a very complex vehicle.

GM tried - Volt. People didn't buy all that many of them. It appears that most people who have bought into the concept of electrification want to go all the way, and the luddites who don't want to touch anything with green credentials don't want anything to do with them.

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Nealric

· #113 · 8 d ago (Edited)

tejlab said:
Honestly the more we go the more I get convinced plug in hybrids are the future and not EVs. They have electric range that is long enough for daily EV only use but the gas motor kicks in for road trips with an overall fuel economy that is double comparable gas only cars. Where is the compromise?

You have to haul all the ICE kit and kaboodle around (you don’t get stuff like a frunk) and maintain the ICE. You typically have much less power available in EV mode, and the acceleration in combined mode won’t have the endless wave of torque an EV has.

I think plug in hybrids are a good stop gap measure for those who live in places with bad EV infrastructure or do a lot of road tripping, but I wouldn’t call them the future.

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ARDailey

· #114 · 7 d ago

CTK said:
I approve both amendments.

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col.mustard

· #115 · 7 d ago

GoFaster said:
The people who complain about EV range are going to complain about EV range no matter what that range actually is

Ark6 said:
Also, it’s only very recently that you see cars that have that sort of range ICE or Electric. Before most compact cars came with 10-12 gallon tanks …that’s not going much more than 300 miles even with driving all highway miles. Unless you get a truck with a 26 gallon tank or a hybrid , 400 mile range is pretty uncommon.

Yuppie Scum said:
"But every 3-5 years I need to drive from northern bum**** maine to some obscure corner of Idaho, towing three boats and a horse trailer. EV's just aren't realistic."

QFT. the range anxiety and charging time complainers aren't going to buy them anyways. My M235 is averaging 300mi with a 12gal fill up. and I. couldn't. care. less. I just need a manual.

give me something like this:

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Air and water do mix

· #116 · 7 d ago

col.mustard said:
I just need a manual.

give me something like this:

While I agree to an extent, for me the thrill/fun would be gone. I'm very into them and totally understand the mechanicals involved, and I love the upkeep on them, too (yes, I mean tinkering with points and whatnot).

An electric motor coupled to a 4-speed? You normally just leave it in third and drive the car with the one gear, as the two don't need each other. You don't need a reverse gear, either. It's just a legacy apparatus at that point.

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ItsHabanero

· #117 · 7 d ago

Air and water do mix said:
An electric motor coupled to a 4-speed? You normally just leave it in third and drive the car with the one gear, as the two don't need each other. You don't need a reverse gear, either. It's just a legacy apparatus at that point.

I've seen a small exception to that, incidentally also with a Porsche. The Taycan has a two speed transmission.

Why the Porsche Taycan's Two-Speed Gearbox Is Such a Big Deal

Want to improve an EV’s range by 5 percent, or pump up its top speed? Trying shifting gears.

www.wired.com

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Elite_Deforce

· #118 · 7 d ago

tejlab said:
Honestly the more we go the more I get convinced plug in hybrids are the future and not EVs. They have electric range that is long enough for daily EV only use but the gas motor kicks in for road trips with an overall fuel economy that is double comparable gas only cars. Where is the compromise?

PHEVs are definitely the present (stop gap), but we cannot rely on ICE for much longer, so they cannot be the future. They are far more complex and expensive to maintain and some automakers claim that some actually create more upstream emissions than BEV due to complexity.

The regulations will also phase them out over the next decade or two.

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Burnette

· #119 · 7 d ago

Elite_Deforce said:
PHEVs are definitely the present (stop gap), but we cannot rely on ICE for much longer, so they cannot be the future. They are far more complex and expensive to maintain and some automakers claim that some actually create more upstream emissions than BEV due to complexity.

The regulations will also phase them out over the next decade or two.

"but we cannot rely on ICE for much longer"

We can and barring legislation, will continue to do so.

"The regulations will also phase them out over the next decade or two."

They will have to do this, because if they left it up to the market, it would never happen.

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ItsHabanero

· #120 · 7 d ago

Elite_Deforce said:
PHEVs are definitely the present (stop gap), but we cannot rely on ICE for much longer, so they cannot be the future. They are far more complex and expensive to maintain and some automakers claim that some actually create more upstream emissions than BEV due to complexity.

Even without the hybrid systems, ICE vehicles have hit Rube Goldberg levels of complexity to meet fuel economy, crash safety, and emissions demands, while not lightening or shrinking them.

Legacy automakers, except Toyota and maybe Stelllantis, are not exactly being dragged kicking and screaming into EVs. Most appear to realize that they are at a technological and cost dead end with ICE-powered vehicles.

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101 - 120 of 140 Posts

Ford CEO Jim Farley on massive EV batteries: “I have no idea what’s going on in this industry right now"

Mazda 3s

An auto CEO came very close to saying the right thing about heavy EV batteries

Roberto Dimento

worth_fixing

CTK

ItsHabanero

Nealric

CTK

mittencuh

ItsHabanero

Mr. Bigglesworth

CTK

tejlab

GoFaster

Nealric

ARDailey

col.mustard

Air and water do mix

ItsHabanero

Why the Porsche Taycan's Two-Speed Gearbox Is Such a Big Deal

Elite_Deforce

Burnette

ItsHabanero

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