Ford’s Farley predicts cost drop coming

The production cost of electric vehicles might not drop to that of gas-powered cars until after 2030 when the process becomes simpler and less labor intensive, Ford CEO Jim Farley said on Wednesday. Farley said at an investor conference that EVs would remain more costly than their internal combustion engine counterparts until the second- and third-generation models go into production later this decade. Some analysts have predicted EV cost parity could come as soon as 2025. While Farley said between 2030 and 2035 much of the industry’s EV cost savings will come from “dramatically lower labor content” because the vehicles will be simpler to build and will be fitted with smaller batteries that use cheaper materials.