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Zetsche: Viable EVs Need 500-km Range

Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche says electric vehicles aren’t likely to gain broad consumer acceptance until they can travel 500 km (310 miles) per charge.
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Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche says electric vehicles aren’t likely to gain broad consumer acceptance until they can travel 500 km (310 miles) per charge.

Zetsche tells reporters at the Geneva auto show that per-kilowatt-hour EV battery costs also must drop from the current price of about $170 to less than $130.

General Motors Co. boasts the lithium-ion batteries in its upcoming Chevrolet Bolt electric sedan will have a cost of $145 per kwh, among the lowest of all EVs.

Tesla Motors Inc. has predicted its $5 billion “gigafactory” will be able to cut battery costs to roughly $120 per kwh once it reaches high production levels in 2020. The 10 million sq-ft facility north of Reno, Nev., is expected to begin initial output of battery cells in 2017.

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