No more expensive nickel and cobalt: Daimler wants to switch EQA to cheap batteries – news

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Daimler boss Ola Kallenius plans to switch the Mercedes-Benz electric models in the lower segment to cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries from 2024. The decision initially only affects two models from the vehicle portfolio such as the EQA in our test video.

The next generation of electrical Mercedes vehicles EQA and EQB should receive lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP batteries). This announced Daimler’s CEO Ola Kallenius in a conversation with the news portal Bloomberg. EQA and EQB are located in a significantly lower price segment compared to the luxury electrolimousine EQS. The EQS should continue to receive a lithium-ion battery because the luxury segment is more profitable as a whole.

"We think that there will be many inner -city customers who do not need the E63 AMG," explains Kallenius. According to the Daimler boss, these customers would probably also be satisfied with somewhat lower ranges for lower prices.

LFP battery: A trend reversal begins here?

In the interview, Kallenius does not respond in detail to the reasons for the change, but it should have been fired from increasing raw material prices for nickel and cobalt as well as by the semiconductor shortage.

After carmakers had made an arc around lithium iron phosphate batteries in recent years, a trend reversal has now been slowly recognized: Tesla had recently announced the basic versions of its model 3 and Model Y worldwide with lithium iron phosphate Equip the battery, probably also fueled by cost pressure. At first, Tesla had only equipped Model 3 from the Chinese Gigafactory with LFP batteries.

LFP batteries are cheaper because they can go largely without expensive and sometimes critical raw materials such as nickel. For this, the energy density is less, many electric car drivers also report a significantly poorer performance of the LFP batteries in the cold. At the same time, the cell chemistry should ensure a much longer durability of the battery – more than a million kilometers without significant capacity would be possible.

10 popular electric cars and their ranges: So far they really drive

Range according to WLTP: Every E-car-prospective person knows this information-and hardly trust them. Because only rarely do these range values correspond to practice. Site has taken ten popular electric cars from the VW e-up to Renault Zoe to Tesla Model 3 and checked how strongly the actual ranges differ in our tests with the WLTP range.

How far drive electric cars: WLTP wish and reality

This article was written by Tobias Stahl
The original to this post "No more expensive nickel and cobalt: Daimler wants to switch EQA to cheap batteries" comes from site.

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