I don't think I agree that they will never catch up, I thought the whole point of looking at solid state tech was because the power density and efficiency were orders of magnitude better. Could very well be wrong here as I hated chem in college haha. Even if they don't or can only get close, at least they will be much lighter which is a major advantage. (Though the 3rd gen is bigger so there goes your weight savings)
I think they should have invested more in the tech behind the original volt. Throw a tiny 1-2 cylinder in there (diesel if you really want to push it) with a DC generator and optimize how it charges and takes advantage of regen braking etc and I think you could have a very efficient platform.
Drivetrain aside I still bet these things will be way overpriced, but at least the Silverado's/Sierra's are also now way overpriced too so you can feel like the mid-size is worth it lol
Diesel Fuel = 38.6 MJ/L, 45.6 MJ/kg
Gasoline = 34.2 MJ/L, 46.4 MJ/kg
Lithium Ion Batteries = 0.83-3.6 MJ/L, 0.46-0.72 MJ/kg
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Orders of magnitude better power density with SSB's is pretty much just a bunch of hopium. If they can be developed to last more than a handful of charge cycles, for something like Lithium-Sulfur batteries I would expect maybe a 30% boost in energy density over Lithium-Ion...meanwhile Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, which are a growing replacement for Lithium-Ion, have 40% less energy density.
