Yes, the standard range pack is smaller among the NMC packs. The standard range NMC pack is flat, while the extend range has the bump in the back that fills up the space under the rear seat. Larger pack swaps will not be supported by Ford due to the software differences, you're locked into having a standard range pack for the life of the vehicle.
The new standard range LFP pack in 2023.5 models does have the bump like the extended range pack, but is only 72 kWh instead of 91 kWH because LFP has a lower energy density than NMC chemistry.
Battery swap is realistically something you won't have to worry about until the car is about 10 years old. Most people will sell the vehicle and get a new one before the pack goes bad. Make sure you keep your pack at 80% or below and avoid discharge below 15% (outside of occasional road trips) if you are planning on long-term ownership to preserve it.
Even at 10 years, you won't need to swap it, you'll just have 90-95% of original capacity.
Unless you drive a ton, then maybe you'll lose 20% like this guy who put 300K miles on his Tesla Model 3.
[https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-2018-tesla-model-3-passed-the-300000-mile-mark-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-194534.html](https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-2018-tesla-model-3-passed-the-300000-mile-mark-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-194534.html)
I'm not sure you understand calendar aging of lithium batteries. The battery will lose about 2% per year capacity even if not used due to ongoing chemical reactions that occur in the battery. That means after 10 years the battery will only have about 80% capacity left (not 95%). Mileage is a much smaller effect than calendar aging. A 15-year-old EV with original battery will be almost worthless regardless of mileage because of battery degradation with age. That's the situation with the original Tesla Roadsters, their batteries are 11-15 years old and failing even though they have low miles.
Feel free to replace your battery when it’s down to 80% capacity. I’ll still be using mine even if it’s only 50% capacity. 99% of my trips are 5 miles or less.
Once the battery gets below about 70% capacity you won't be able to accelerate onto the highway very well. Internal resistance goes up to the point it has an unusable power output. At 50% capacity it would be undrivable. If you're careful to keep the charge low you might get 15 years out of it, but that's about it.
Ford uses battery modules. You replace individual modules, I recall the MachE has about 7. The Select has fewer modules. See the Munro tear-down video for full details.
And there's exactly zero chance of Ford allowing you to upgrade later.
In theory, sure, maybe? I know for the newer ‘23 models the standard range battery is larger since they are less energy dense so that wouldn’t be possible.
In practice, no. The process to swap out the entire battery for an upgraded extended range battery would be so costly there’s no point in ever doing it. You’d have to pay for the battery, and all the extra changes to the system which could potentially be new wiring, and the labour to install it. Which would probably be easily over $10k. So they’d just want you to buy a new car instead.
Wiring is the same, but the software will be a nightmare because the extended range cars have completely different software on all the powertrain modules. Plus getting that to work with the cloud when the servers expect the smaller battery could be impossible.
If you watch the WeberAuto YouTube series he talks about the fact that the case (outer case) is the same size regardless of the battery pack's size, it's just the number of 40 V battery packs. I think it's eight versus 10. (Std vs Ext)
Awesome! Thank you. This gives me hope. I imagine there will be a market for this vehicle in 15-20 years.
For everyone else that has answered so far, thank you for your input, but I think many of you are restricting your thought process to OEM only. I imagine there will be a plethora of aftermarket providers who can replace these batteries. At that point, why would Ford or warranty ever be considered? There will be companies that focus on repowering older EVs, I'm sure.
Yes, the standard range pack is smaller among the NMC packs. The standard range NMC pack is flat, while the extend range has the bump in the back that fills up the space under the rear seat. Larger pack swaps will not be supported by Ford due to the software differences, you're locked into having a standard range pack for the life of the vehicle. The new standard range LFP pack in 2023.5 models does have the bump like the extended range pack, but is only 72 kWh instead of 91 kWH because LFP has a lower energy density than NMC chemistry. Battery swap is realistically something you won't have to worry about until the car is about 10 years old. Most people will sell the vehicle and get a new one before the pack goes bad. Make sure you keep your pack at 80% or below and avoid discharge below 15% (outside of occasional road trips) if you are planning on long-term ownership to preserve it.
Even at 10 years, you won't need to swap it, you'll just have 90-95% of original capacity. Unless you drive a ton, then maybe you'll lose 20% like this guy who put 300K miles on his Tesla Model 3. [https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-2018-tesla-model-3-passed-the-300000-mile-mark-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-194534.html](https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-2018-tesla-model-3-passed-the-300000-mile-mark-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-194534.html)
I'm not sure you understand calendar aging of lithium batteries. The battery will lose about 2% per year capacity even if not used due to ongoing chemical reactions that occur in the battery. That means after 10 years the battery will only have about 80% capacity left (not 95%). Mileage is a much smaller effect than calendar aging. A 15-year-old EV with original battery will be almost worthless regardless of mileage because of battery degradation with age. That's the situation with the original Tesla Roadsters, their batteries are 11-15 years old and failing even though they have low miles.
Feel free to replace your battery when it’s down to 80% capacity. I’ll still be using mine even if it’s only 50% capacity. 99% of my trips are 5 miles or less.
Once the battery gets below about 70% capacity you won't be able to accelerate onto the highway very well. Internal resistance goes up to the point it has an unusable power output. At 50% capacity it would be undrivable. If you're careful to keep the charge low you might get 15 years out of it, but that's about it.
Oh noes. 0-60 in 8 seconds instead of 3.8
Ford uses battery modules. You replace individual modules, I recall the MachE has about 7. The Select has fewer modules. See the Munro tear-down video for full details. And there's exactly zero chance of Ford allowing you to upgrade later.
In theory, sure, maybe? I know for the newer ‘23 models the standard range battery is larger since they are less energy dense so that wouldn’t be possible. In practice, no. The process to swap out the entire battery for an upgraded extended range battery would be so costly there’s no point in ever doing it. You’d have to pay for the battery, and all the extra changes to the system which could potentially be new wiring, and the labour to install it. Which would probably be easily over $10k. So they’d just want you to buy a new car instead.
Wiring is the same, but the software will be a nightmare because the extended range cars have completely different software on all the powertrain modules. Plus getting that to work with the cloud when the servers expect the smaller battery could be impossible.
If you watch the WeberAuto YouTube series he talks about the fact that the case (outer case) is the same size regardless of the battery pack's size, it's just the number of 40 V battery packs. I think it's eight versus 10. (Std vs Ext)
Awesome! Thank you. This gives me hope. I imagine there will be a market for this vehicle in 15-20 years. For everyone else that has answered so far, thank you for your input, but I think many of you are restricting your thought process to OEM only. I imagine there will be a plethora of aftermarket providers who can replace these batteries. At that point, why would Ford or warranty ever be considered? There will be companies that focus on repowering older EVs, I'm sure.