The Expert Podcast

Look, it's no secret that there are a lot of powerful forces behind the transition to electric vehicles. But there are also many obstacles and problems that still haven't been solved. One major issue is the battery problem, which remains unresolved and is starting to get worse. Many companies can't fix their supply chain problems because the materials that go into batteries are not unlimited in resources.

If you're building an internal combustion engine out of metal, you can mine iron and steel all over the place, along with aluminum. However, the materials that go into an electric car battery are in limited supply. This creates a supply issue.

What is a solution that's being offered? According to Road & Track, one solution is to go smaller. But what does that mean? Is that really what we want to do? What they're suggesting is that you might not care if you can only have 250 miles of range instead of 325. You might even prefer it.

So what they're saying is that the solution to the limited supply of materials for batteries is to convince electric vehicle buyers that they don’t need to go that far. You only need to go 250 miles instead of 325. But what are your thoughts on this? Isn't the whole idea of electric vehicles to increase the range? One of the biggest obstacles for EVs is that people don’t want to be restricted on how far they can drive without having to recharge.

In spite of all that, manufacturers claim they are very close to eliminating internal combustion engine (ICE) cars for good. But who knows if that’s actually the case? Who knows if the public is going to accept vehicles with a shorter range?

Right now, most gasoline-powered cars have a range of about 400 miles. Not only is the range 400 miles, but the refueling process is also very quick—you pull into a gas station, and two minutes later, you’re full up and ready for another 400 miles. If you’re buying an electric car with a 250-mile range, that’s about a 40% reduction in how far you can drive. And on top of that, charging takes significantly longer.

Now, maybe some people’s lifestyles can accommodate this change, but there’s a bigger problem. The bigger problem is where the materials for electric vehicle batteries come from.

Right now, China provides 79% of the global market supply and 90% of the anodes—one of the key parts of a battery. This could be a problem because if the global market—or even just China—needs more, they may not export as much to other countries like the United States. At the present time, the U.S. does not have enough raw materials from domestic sources to replace any of that.

It’s even worse for future, more efficient batteries. Manganese, a key component in battery production for modern batteries, is 93% controlled by China. And China has a virtual 100% monopoly on pure graphite—one of the essential materials for making more efficient batteries and electric vehicles.

These are all major obstacles. But there's another issue that is starting to bubble up: electric vehicles have more problems than combustion engine cars.

Now, granted, some of this technology is still new, so there may be more bugs to work out of the systems. However, studies show that electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids have more reported problems per 100 vehicles than gasoline-powered cars. That’s going to turn off a lot of buyers.

Electric vehicle owners reported 240 problems per 100 vehicles, compared to 175 for gas-engine models. These vehicles should have fewer problems because they have fewer moving parts. So, if buyers who are trying EVs for the first time find that they are not reliable—on top of struggling with charging issues and long trips—this may slow down the adoption of electric vehicles.

Tell us what you think about the future of electric vehicles. How does it fit into your lifestyle? And where do you think this transition is heading in our culture?