Carbon-free, a tricky target for exotic car brands
The push for battery-only supercars makes little sense for purely environmental reasons, said Philippe Houchois, an automotive analyst at investment bank Jefferies.
“Putting a big battery in a supercar has a negative impact on manufacturing emissions because it drives so little [to offset the extra emissions in producing the battery]“, said Houchois Automotive News Europea sister publication of Automotive News.
British brand McLaren plans to move to a 100% electrified portfolio by 2026, with its first all-electric model expected by the end of the decade.
In the short term, McLaren is sticking with fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid technology to reduce fleet emissions without compromising weight.
This fall, McLaren begins deliveries of the Artura, a $237,500 plug-in hybrid. Meanwhile, a successor to its P1 mid-engine plug-in hybrid supercar could arrive in late 2024.
But in a move likely to raise the eyebrows of brand purists, McLaren could be flirting with the idea of an electric SUV.
Consumer demand and profit margins for large utility-style vehicles are an irresistible siren song. Even Ferrari, the high priest of low-slung sports cars, developed the taller Purosangue.
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