VW : Electric cars are not suitable for the mass market

[gbarry42]

The German auto giant sees hybrids, more specifically, range-extended plug-in hybrids, as the most viable option going into the future, with even its small cars expected to benefit from the addition of an electric motor and battery.

Because it is essential to your business to identify the one vehicle that everyone wants, and only make that. That makes as much sense as dumping your passenger vehicle line line because "trucks are more useful"

...not only could the oil companies be worried but so could the piston manufacturers, the piston ring manufacturers, the oil, gas and air filter makers, the muffler and tail pipe mfrs...

Buggy whips, too. Any manufacturer with half a brain has the option of adding, for example, electric motors to their product line. I think the tobacco companies are still around, and it isn't tobacco they are getting wealthy from.

high performance diesel emits less carbon than "most" BEV's charged by "typical/average" electrical grids.

Following this logic, we should build diesel-powered electricity plants, since power plants have lower emissions percentage than small engines.

 

[ERG4ALL]

Buggy whips, too. Any manufacturer with half a brain has the option of adding, for example, electric motors to their product line. I think the tobacco companies are still around, and it isn't tobacco they are getting wealthy from.

It depends on their expertise and how soon the stockholders will require a payback on the money invested in a different field than their "core" business. Many times you will see large corporations shedding ancillary companies as they stress they are getting back to what they do best, their "core" business. It all depends on how close a match of their core business is with the type of aftermarket products that EVs require.

With the lower maintenance of EVs I think it will be a tough market to switch over to. When you look at the complexity of ICE vehicles versus the simplicity of EVs, IMO there just won't be as big a market for replaceable items.

 

[smkettner]

VW says the EV is not suitable for mass market because VW is not able or ready to market a competitive EV.

 

[Stanton]

>>I got to thinking about the negative EV press that has come out now that the EV is a threat to the status quo. Just think, not only could the oil companies be worried but so could the piston manufacturers, the piston ring manufacturers, the oil, gas and air filter makers, the muffler and tail pipe mfrs., etc., etc., etc. Just "follow the money" and it is easy to see why some will only point to the negative rather than the positive all the while ignoring the negatives of the existing ICE world<<

You didn't cast your net wide enough: the ENTIRE ICE ecosystem is threatened, INCLUDING the service department at your local car dealer. There's no way EVs will ever require as much service as an ICE car. Nissan is the only one with enough guts to see past the near-to-mid term (as it hurts their service departments as well).

 

[ERG4ALL]

During the prototype demo in December 2009 I asked that same question of the rep. What will this do to all the Nissan service bays? His take on it was that the EV revolution will happen slowly enough that they should be able to reduce their mechanics work force through attrition.

 

[SanDust]

The categories aren't that rigid. BMW wants to do an EREV but doesn't know how to do it, which is why they hired the vehicle line directory who brought out the Volt for its i3 project. Volvo has a BEV but it uses an ICE to heat the passenger compartment and the battery, which according to many on this forum means it's not an electric car much less a BEV. GM could do a BEV anytime -- making a BEV out of an EREV is a piece of cake -- and it may do that. My guess is that Nissan is trying to figure out if it has the technological expertise to do an EREV.

IOW companies are going where consumers take them. We're still at the experimentation stage. However, given the CAFE standards companies are going to have to use electrification.

 

[avanti5010]

VW says the EV is not suitable for mass market because VW is not able or ready to market a competitive EV.

Exactly right! VW has been irrelevant for years. The German egos won't allow them to admit when they are wrong - and when their products fail, which is quite often!

 

[evnow]

The categories aren't that rigid. BMW wants to do an EREV but doesn't know how to do it, which is why they hired the vehicle line directory who brought out the Volt for its i3 project. Volvo has a BEV but it uses an ICE to heat the passenger compartment and the battery, which according to many on this forum means it's not an electric car much less a BEV. GM could do a BEV anytime -- making a BEV out of an EREV is a piece of cake -- and it may do that. My guess is that Nissan is trying to figure out if it has the technological expertise to do an EREV.

LOL - full of FUD and spin, as usual.

In any case, note that I'm talking about strategy (or lack there of), not capability.

ps : I've not included Volvo because it is a bit player - with just 100K per year volume.

 

[Adrian]

Maybe the thread could be re-titled: "VW electric cars are not suitable for the mass market".

 

[LEAFer]

Maybe the thread could be re-titled: "VW electric cars are not suitable for the mass market".

:lol: BRILIANT ! :lol:

 

[cdub]

Yeah, I agree with VW's logic.

I mean, if you didn't have at least 1000 different parts to fail and gush oil all over the place like other VW products, what would replace all of the OEM parts revenue they'd lose? Seems like a good way for any car manufacturer to drive themselves out of business.

Haha... both my sister in laws had VW Jettas... both my sister in laws now will not buy a VW again for the same reason.

 

[cdub]

I got to thinking about the negative EV press that has come out now that the EV is a threat to the status quo.

This is slightly OT... but the is the main reason why I had my other post that the Chromebook was the Leaf of computers due to the amount of negative press it was getting. When you talk to people who are actually using them... they love it. It's not their main computer (like the Leaf isn't our main car) but they love it.