Cars made in America have a very serious problem recently. Most of the cars are getting heavier weight.
Based on a survey conducted last year, the average car in the United States weighs 1,963 kilograms. That weight has increased by 79 kilograms in just three years.
This condition does not only occur in conventional cars. Electric cars made in the United States also getting heavier.
“Cars that used to weigh only one ton now reach three tons,” said Ned Curic, Chief Technology Officer of Stellanti NV, quoted by Carsifu, Thursday (10/8/2023).
“This is not good for the environment. It is also not good for natural resources and very bad for efficiency,” he added.
It’s just that according to him this actually happened because of very high security demands. It all started in the 1980s when security regulations were getting tighter and making car manufacturers in Uncle Sam’s country try hard to meet these demands.
Various security features are then crammed into the cars with the United States flag. Materials were also strengthened and the construction of the car was also improved. The goal is that designers don’t have to worry when the safety standards for their cars are tested.
Not to mention that in 2018 consumer needs have changed. At that time the demand for large SUVs beat sedans and hatchbacks.
The same condition also occurs in electric cars where batteries are the main cause of heavier weight. Society demands an electric car with a high mileage range. As a result, the size of the battery is enlarged and the impact on the additional weight of the electric car is extraordinary.
According to Ned Curic, Stellantis himself could not avoid this demand. One of the car brands in their group, Ram, actually makes cars that weigh up to 2,721 kilograms.
Car manufacturers are actually aware of this worrying condition. It’s just that efforts to reduce weight by using lighter materials and finding compact-sized batteries with far-reaching power are not easy. It took a very large research cost to get it.
