LG Chem, the South Korean company that supplies batteries to General Motors and Renault among others carmakers, will offer electric vehicles more than 200 miles of range by 2016, reports Automotive News.
Chief financial officer Cho Suk-jeh, who revealed LG Chem’s ambitions last week, did not confirm which carmakers would use the new batteries, although LG Chem’s technology can currently be found in the Chevrolet Volt and the Renault ZOE, as well as Volvo’s popular V60 Plug-in Hybrid.
LG Chem’s timeline not only tallies with Tesla’s plans to launch a 200-mile electric car – the ‘Model 3′ – in 2016 or 2017, but also with comments made by former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson last year.
Akerson told Bloomberg Businessweek that GM would launch a 200-mile electric car that would cost around $30,000, describing it as a “moon shot” that would surprise the competition.
Earlier this year, LG Chem and Renault signed an agreement to develop long-range electric vehicle battery technology. This second-generation battery pack could be the first fruits of that alliance.
The energy density of lithium-ion battery cells for automotive use is rising at the same time that the cost to build them is falling. A number of carmakers are currently focused on being the first to offer an affordable electric car with at least a 200-mile range, which is seen as the threshold at with ‘range anxiety’ is alleviated.
Source: http://ecomento.com/2014/07/21/lg-chem-targets-200-mile-electric-car-range-by-2016/
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