Big Gets Heavier

4,500 pounds is the average weight of a car on the road in the US, which is inline with the most popular style of vehicle: a midsize sport utility vehicle. The Ford F150 is the most popular car on the road with a median curb weight just over 4,500 pounds. The longer range, performance version of the Tesla Model 3 weighs just over 4,000 pounds.

Source: Motor Intelligence U.S. Market New Vehicle Deliveries Report, Forbes

(Note: In the above chart, I had to manually add the Tesla Model 3 numbers because they were not in that particular report. Number 16 was the Jeep Wrangler at 201,311 cars for 2020.)

The bigger cars are getting heavier with electrification. The 2022 all-electric Ford Lightning weighs in at 6,500 pounds: a 44% increase from its F150 gas counterpart. The Rivian R1S is coming in around 7,000 pounds. Electrification is a great thing for reducing carbon emissions, but do we have the renewable electricity generation capability to meet this demand?

Vaclav Smil in “Energy Myths” states that point: it is a myth to think we have current plans in place to meet those car energy needs. The Ford Lightning has compelling selling points to drive electric vehicle adoption. Mobilizing renewable energy to meet that need will be a good problem to solve.