Most of the recent positive articles about lithium-ion batteries state that their recyclability is breaking records. According to many interpreters of such news, that's a clear sign that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are the clean, environmentally responsible, and sensible cars they were predicted to be. However, the true lesson is that the automotive industry can't predict.
In an interview at the IAA 2021, Volkswagen's CEO at the time said that its main strategy to keep hold of battery packs would be to lease used BEVs. According to Herbert Diess, that would be easy because battery packs would be valuable, improving the overall residual values of the company's electric cars. Five years later, we know that the truth is the opposite of that.
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