MG: EVs now priced to rival petrol cars

The boss of battery development at Chinese brand MG says some electric vehicles have finally reached cost-parity with internal combustion equivalents – and they’re only going to get cheaper.

A barrier to entry for electric vehicle ownership has long been price, with batteries the most expensive component by far. Electric vehicle batteries contain precious metals such as lithium, which are expensive to extract from the earth. However the ‘dollar-per-kWh’ cost of batteries is falling – to the point it will become normal that an electric vehicle is cheaper than a petrol-powered equivalent.

Speaking to Wheels from SAIC’s headquarters in Shanghai, China, Director of MG Battery Development Ge Hailong said it was important to compare lifetime-cost-of-ownership (rather than just upfront price) and to consider the market cost of raw lithium ore.

3

When asked when an electric car will be cheaper than a petrol one, Ge said the milestone moment was being achieved right now.

“I think currently, maybe one month before, or two months before, the [lithium] miners cause the cost to come very lower, maybe 200,000 (RMB) per tonne,” he said, referring to the market price of lithium carbonate.

“By that price, for a sedan, for example, we calculate it, and it’s very close to a petrol, similar-size vehicle. And also during the usage, the usage cost is much lower than the petrol vehicle. So in the whole life calculation, at the moment a sedan EV is cheaper than petrol. Now. But it depends on the miners’ cost of lithium.”

3

Ge cited no specific examples of make or model. He told told Wheels EV recycling programs, which extract lithium from used electric vehicles to be re-used again, will bring down the cost of batteries significantly.

“Battery recycling technology is coming better and better, and when this battery recycling can achieve 90 percent, we do not take the material from the miners,” he said.

The global EV revolution is great news for Australia, currently the world’s top producer of lithium. In the 2022/23 financial year, Australia’s national earnings from lithium exports leapt from $5.3b in 2021/22 to more than $18.6b.