The Problem of EV Sizing: Weight, Battery Capacity, and Required Range
Weight is a problem for electric vehicles: almost invariably, EVs are heavier than their ICE counterparts of similar size. For example, the Chevrolet Blazer EV weighs 5163 lb in its lightest trim, 1245 lb more than the lightest ICE Blazer. Weight increases force and power required at speed, hinders maneuverability and negatively impacts driving dynamics, increases particulate matter pollution ( from both tires and brake pads ), and reduces efficiency —not to mention requiring greater energy inputs to construct commensurate with the greater mass of material needed to build the heavier car in the first place. This Hyundai Ioniq 6 weighs 1000 lb more than the Sonata, despite the two having similar dimensions. The reason EVs are heavy is because they require large batteries to have acceptable range; however, while total range increases with battery size, efficiency (range per unit of energy) goes down as more weight is added by the increased battery size, which requires more energy per u...