Electric Car Stats, Facts & Figures: Batteries, Charging and Infrastructure

There’s a lot of data, statistics, facts and figures concerning electric cars. We’ve consolidated the most important and poignant for complete ease of access and will be sharing them over the course of three articles.

Missed last week's post? We covered the headlines: how many EVs are in the UK, the most popular EV and the manufacturers who are leading the market. Check it out here.

Here’s an overview of our statistics roundup:

1. The?average distance of a car journey in England is only 8.3 miles
2. Tesla’s market cap of $690.76 B is around?$90 B?more than the trailing seven OEMs’ market cap?combined.
3. September 2022 marked the registration of the?1,000,000th plug-in car?in the UK.
4. China currently produces?76% of the world’s?lithium-ion batteries
5. The world’s?best-selling electric car is the Tesla Model 3

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Electric car battery statistics

The headline component for all electric cars is the battery pack. It largely determines the range of the car and has a huge impact on the overall cost of electric vehicles in general. In fact, the?average cost of an EV’s battery pack is around ￡5,600.

Headline battery facts

The most popular type of battery to use in electric cars is a lithium-ion battery.

The weight of the battery pack typically depends on the capacity, however they can weigh anywhere between 100 - 600kg.?Here are two real-world examples:

• The 85kWh battery in a Tesla Model S 2017 model, weighs 544kg. This is around 25% of the car’s overall weight (2,188kg).
• A more modestly sized 22kWh battery from the Renault Zoe weighs 235kg, which is only 16% of the car’s total weight (1,470kg).
• Using the table below as a guide, the Tesla Model 3’s 75kW battery weighs around 538kg - nearly a third of its total 1,700kg kerb weight.

(Source:?Weight of Stuff)

As battery technology continues to advance, the significant weight of battery packs should improve.

There are typically?three types of cell formats?used in electric car batteries, these are:

1. Cylindrical cells?- The most cost-effective and common in all-electric cars. They’re manufactured in a smaller format than the other cells on this list to ensure heat is efficiently dissipated - prolonging the life of the battery. Common formats of cylindrical battery are 18650 and 21700, with the number essentially determining the size of the battery and its capacity.?
2. Prismatic cells?- Ranging between 20 to 100 times larger than cylindrical cells, these cells can deliver more power and store more energy. Their unique casing allows superior heat management than cylindrical cells, too. This type of cell is the most popular among Chinese manufacturers. However, they’re steadily gaining popularity amongst Western manufacturers and may soon become the go-to choice for electric cars.
3. Pouch cells?- The most powerful of all cell types. Pouch cells are created to deliver maximum output whilst using up the smallest physical footprint. Unfortunately, they’re also the most mechanically sensitive. Because of this, extra structures and protection are required during the assembly process to protect them from damage.

Battery efficiency

The weight of a battery pack doesn’t determine its overall efficiency within a vehicle. Battery tech is perpetually evolving and improving, with engineers constantly squeezing higher-energy density cells into batteries.

This constant battle between weight and capacity culminates in a ‘sweet spot’ for electric cars. The following graph demonstrates the kg/kWh for specific electric models - the lower the figure the better.?

(Source:?Inside EVs)

As demonstrated by the above graph, Tesla continues to outclass much of its competition. Even though most of its models tip the scale at around 2,000kg, the use of high-energy dense battery cells gives the American automaker an edge and a much higher efficiency rating than its competition.?

This extra Tesla magic does come at a cost though. A very literal, higher, financial cost.

As the size of the battery pack drops, so does kg/kWh efficiency. But vehicles such as the Fiat 500e and Honda e (34.8 kg/kWh and 45.6 kg/kWh respectively) are not designed to travel incredibly long distances.

They’re the perfect city car. Zero tailpipe emission driving at a far lower cost than petrol/diesel alternatives.?

Manufacturing

Due to the astronomical demand for lithium-ion batteries, countries around the globe are trying their best to ramp up production.?

• China?currently produces 76%?of the world’s lithium-ion batteries
• The United States creates 8%
• The remaining 16% of production is spread mainly across Europe?

With China leading the way in regards to battery production, Europe is ramping up its efforts and opening a number of gigafactories across the continent.

A gigafactory is a very large battery production facility, deriving its name from the gigawatt (GW) - a unit of energy equivalent to 1,000,000 x kilowatts (kW).?

Tesla will soon have three gigafactories to its name: Nevada, Berlin and Texas.

Britain is going to need?175 GWh of battery capacity by the year 2035?to supply the estimated 3 million+ EVs on UK roads. As it stands, the UK currently only has?three gigafactories planned or open:

• Envision AESC in Sunderland. Open. Capacity: 1.9 GWh in 2025, 1.9 GWh in 2030.
• Britishvolt in Blyth. Under construction. Capacity: 20 GWh in 2025, 30 GWh in 2030.
• Envision AESC in Sunderland. Planned. Capacity: 11 GWh in 2025, 25 GWh in 2030.

The projected output of 57 GWh in 2030 is simply not enough to meet demand and a measly amount compared to European counterparts. By 2030, Germany will provide around 34% of Europe’s GWh capacity.?Britain’s input? 5%.?

Battery degradation

A topic occasionally mentioned by drivers reluctant to make the switch to electric, battery degradation is often presented as the ‘smoking gun’ against EV uptake. In reality, the effects are negligible.

• Battery degradation averages only 12% after 6 years of use.
• The globe’s most popular electric car - the Tesla Model 3 - has a battery degradation rate of only 2.5% after 18 months of use.
• German engineering prevails with the Volkswagen e-Golf, losing only 3.1% of its capacity after three years.

Unlike a petrol or diesel car, which is completely scrapped at the end of its life, electric cars have a circular economy. That is, even when a battery pack degrades to the point of being unusable in an electric car, it’s recycled. The precious heavy metals within the old battery are recovered and reused in fresh new batteries.

Not just that, but old batteries are also used to bolster the electricity grid. This takes the pressure off the grid at peak times.?

If you’re worried about the battery degradation of a specific vehicle, check out Geotab’s?EV Battery Degradation Comparison Tool.

Battery degradation and constant improvements to battery tech are two of the strongest arguments for leasing an electric car via salary sacrifice. Once the average 36 month lease is completed, the battery may have somewhat waned and tech will have significantly improved. With salary sacrifice, the leasing company takes on that risk.

Simply hand the car back at the end of your term and replace it with a brand new one. 100% battery health with all of the latest battery advancements.

If you’d like to learn more about leasing via salary sacrifice, why not get in touch and see how we can?save you ￡100s per month on the latest electric car.

Electric vehicle charging statistics

Fast chargers (22kW or more)?account for only one in seven of all EU charging points.?This is considered inadequate for real-world usage.

The Netherlands is the gold standard for EV infrastructure

• The Netherlands is by far and away the leader with the number of charging stations.?With around 80,000 charging points across the country, the Government has managed to nigh-on wipe out the term ‘range anxiety’. This is even more impressive when taking into account that the Netherlands is the 31st largest country in Europe.
• 75% of all electric car charging points across the EU are located in just four countries.?As of the end of 2020: Netherlands: 25.4% Germany 20.3% France 15.2% United Kingdom 14.3%.
• The Netherlands has 64.3 charging points per 100km of road.?This is the best in Europe, followed by Luxembourg with 57.9 charging points/100km and Germany a distant third place with 25.8 charging points/100 km.?
• The Netherlands has one charger for every 1.5km of road.
• The Netherlands charging network is so impressive, that Tesla decided to?open up its Supercharger network?to other OEM brands there first.

In regards to the increased load on electricity grids thanks to the uptick in EV adoption,?grid simulations suggest?that between now and 2030, EV loads in major car markets should not pose significant challenges. This impact should be even further mitigated via the introduction of more domestic smart chargers.?

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We've compiled all of the stats and facts so you don't have to look anywhere else! Next time we'll be covering emission stats, car specs and the future of electric cars. Can't wait? Read the full article here.