It's definitely gonna be a challenge without a doubt. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from my understanding, the biggest selling point of EREVs especially larger EVs, is because they still have ICE powertrains as generators, the battery packs themselves are much smaller than larger pure EVs, which means these larger EREVS are far more affordable than large pure EVs. I believe Ford was saying they believe their EREVs will be able to sell for about the same price as a nice hybrid.    If that's true, I can see the appeal of those types of vehicles. Having a smaller battery so you enjoy all electric driving during short drives, while having the gas powertrain during longer trips sounds like a really good solution for people who want an EV, but also want to take long road trips without worrying about having to charge. 

Fear doesn’t have to be justifiable to be real, and hence influence behavior.

How many batteries actually need to be replaced in say the first 10 years of ownership? 

That’s what I was implying.  A relatively affordable Tesla Model 3 as example with “existing” batteries already provides up to 363 miles of range, and can also charge fairly fast.  Obviously some people don’t like the styling and others hate Musk, but point is that BEVs are not all that bad even now.  There must be other hurdles, right?  IMO issue of battery replacement fears for one needs to be addressed.   As previously mentioned the upcoming Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt at even lower estimated prices may surprise.  Or not.  We’ll see soon enough. 

But at the same time, LFPs are good enough for most use cases...seems like people come up with an excuse just not to buy something because it does something slightly differently. 

Seems to be a bit of willful ignorance going on here that he is completely ignoring: The 2.0L made 160 horsepower at 6,500 RPM and 146 pound-feet of torque in non-ecoboost form   2.5L 168 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque in non-hybrid form   2.5L Hybrid is rated at 192 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque combined with the hybrid motor. The engine alone 162 HP   The 1.5L Ecoboost makes 181HP and 190 ft lbs   2.0L Ecoboost makes 250 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque   The 3.0L V6 made 240HP and 231 ft of torque   The whole point of the Ecoboost engines where to downsize from a V6 and a larger I4 to packages that give you more power and equal or better MPGs vs their larger counterparts.    The power numbers from the 2.5L are from 15 years ago, so there is a decent amount of loss from going to an Atkinson cycle given possible improvements in the power output of the engine over time. Like you said a NA 1.5L would be lucky to hit 100-120HP and a hybrid setup would maybe add another 30-40HP if you where lucky,     

Perhaps because a keyed ignition is mechanical and would be left in the on position upon shutdown, which would drain the battery?

Yeah, unfortunately solid state batteries could still be many years away.  It’s not just the technology, which is indeed promising, but also the higher cost per kWh.   Projected prices I’ve seen are still much higher than present LFP as example.

No diesel. 6.8 gasser