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Courtesy of ENERGYminute
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As the electric vehicle market continues to grow and become more competitive, manufacturers are pushing the limits on battery capacity, resulting in some seriously thicc rides.
Background: In general, EVs are much heavier than their gas-guzzling counterparts thanks to an array of dense batteries. Although more batteries translate into longer driving ranges, the added weight may have road safety implications.
Consider North America’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150. The gas model weighs in at around 4000 pounds, while the F-150 Lighting electric model tips the scales to a whopping 6000 pounds, or 50 percent more.
- For context, the F-150 Lighting weighs about the same as a traditional F-150 if it had a 1999 Ford Fiesta in the bed.
This is where things get really heavy
When it comes to traffic safety, most drivers experience about one micromort—a cute little term for a literal one-in-a-million chance of death—for every 320 kilometers travelled in a car. This increases by 47 percent for every 1000 pounds added to a vehicle’s weight.
- Experts think that without rapid advances in battery and vehicle designs, there are likely to be “many additional deaths and injuries attributed solely to the added weight of EV batteries”.
Thanks a lot, momentum.
Bottom line: To put it way too simply, EVs have “more car per car” compared to traditional combustion models. On top of higher injury risk, the added weight raises important questions about aging global infrastructure—think bridges, parking garages, and ferries—to physically support EVs with a little more junk in the trunk.
Time will tell, but hopefully a civil engineer does first.
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