GM building a 200 mile BEV for $35k ?

[evnow]

GM is supposed to show the BEV at Detroit auto show. The BEV is supposed to be out in 2016.

Anyway - I think we are overestimating the impact. Volt and other PHEVs will still have a market...

 

[GRA]

Extremely so. They already know that not having five seats in the Volt has cost them sales, and all indications are that the 2nd gen will have five. The Spark has minimal space intrusion by the battery, and any attempt to put a bigger battery in cargo/passenger space would be a step backward. They may be big and dumb, but I don't think they're that big and dumb.

200 mile low volume BEV does 2 things for GM
- boosts corporate ego
- gives them ZEV credits
Which is all they might be looking for.

More than doubling the range for only 1 more credit hardly seems economic, which is why we've been stuck with all these '100 mile' (on LA 4) BEVs. As to boosting corporate ego, if it makes a car that can sell on its own without subsidies, I'm all for it.

But then I thought Nissan wasn't either, and they sure proved me wrong.

In what way have they been dumb ? Persueing BEV instead FCEv ? :lol:[/quote]
Oh, come now, what's the monster thread up to now, 6,600+ posts detailing just how big and dumb Nissan was?

 

[evnow]

Oh, come now, what's the monster thread up to now, 6,600+ posts detailing just how big and dumb Nissan was?

We don't know what exactly their aging tests indicated - so calling them dumb is ... overreaching.

 

[edatoakrun]

..But then I thought Nissan wasn't (big and dumb) either, and they sure proved me wrong.

I can see the big, as in market share, but where exactly do you see the dumb?

chart by evnow

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17762&start=50" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...what's the monster thread up to now, 6,600+ posts detailing just how big and dumb Nissan was?

You mean this 6,900+ post thread?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8802&start=6910" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I can see why a reader might find a great deal of dumb (to use your term) in many of the posts in that thread, but just what of that dumb in it is from Nissan?

You might want to add any response to that thread GRA, and let this one go back on-topic.

 

[evnow]

Ok - back on topic.

 

[GRA]

Oh, come now, what's the monster thread up to now, 6,600+ posts detailing just how big and dumb Nissan was?

We don't know what exactly their aging tests indicated - so calling them dumb is ... overreaching.

My comments were based on their communication skills, treatment of early adopters and decision-making process which lead to them shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly, despite numerous warnings that would be the result of proposed actions, not what battery testing they did or didn't do. But enough of that, so back on topic:

wrote:
...200 mile low volume BEV does 2 things for GM
- boosts corporate ego
- gives them ZEV credits...

Any 200 mile BEV for $35k does one more thing for GM.

Renders the second generation GM volt obsolete, forcing GM to write off it's multi-billion dollar PHEV investment.

Of course, Any mass-production DC-charge-capable 200 mile BEV five-passenger mid-size sedan for $35k would also render every ICEV and hybrid in that class obsolete.

IMO, this event is likely to still be ~ five years out.

I don't see that it will render the 2nd Gen Volt let alone any 5-pax ICE/hybrid obsolete, as long as batteries cost what they do and the charging infrastructure is as limited as it is. It will certainly increase the % of people who will find a BEV acceptable as their sole car, but barring a huge and sustained rise in oil prices, I expect we'll have ICEs with us en masse for a couple of decades at least. Actually, that's pretty much guaranteed. I've been unable to find current numbers, but the U.S. LDV fleet is somewhere between 200 and 250 million. Call it 225M. Sales bottomed out in 2010 at around 10.4 million IIRR, but have since recovered and are on track to exceed 16 million this year, so assume an average of 15M/yr. Assuming that nothing but BEVs were to be sold starting today, it would still take almost 15 years to replace the entire fleet (many existing cars would be totaled sooner, but so would some new ones).

 

[muus]

Chevrolet Sonic EV to Have 200-mile Range, Debut in 2017

See more at: http://www.dailytech.com/Chevrolet+...in+2017/article36704.htm#sthash.sKol8JhE.dpuf

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Chevrolet Sonic EV to Have 200-mile Range, Debut in 2017

See more at: http://www.dailytech.com/Chevrolet+...in+2017/article36704.htm#sthash.sKol8JhE.dpuf

That comment on the article by "Mahazy" is spot on. This report, if true, is proof that GM is clueless, not from a technology standpoint but from marketing.

 

[adric22]

Yep - The ONLY reason I can imagine that GM would pick the Sonic for their 200 mile EV is to limit it's appeal on purpose. And if the car is only sold in CARB states like the Spark EV, then we'll know for sure that it was only built to get credits. That strategy makes perfect sense if your goal is to prove to the world that there is no market for EVs. The trouble is, that is their old tried-and-true method. Things have changed. Tesla and Nissan have changed the game. Surely GM can see this. So why keep going with that strategy?

 

[LKK]

I just read that Cadillac says they will be coming out with a pure electric in addition to the plug-in hybrid announced recently. Could GM have two 200 mile EVe coming out? One a low cost to compete with the Leaf and another more expensive one to compete with either the Tesla? Could both of these EVs be based on the same platform?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-cadillacs-boss-maps-product-blitz-2020-214854257--finance.html?.tsrc=yah%2F" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

would be curious to see what is more successful. the 200 mile $35,000 EV or the current 85 mile EV for $25,000 with a small boost in public charging?

I talk to a lot of people who will likely never charge publicly, have modest driving needs, multiple cars, and a huge interest in getting the LEAF if the price were a bit lower.

This begs the question, why a boost in public charging? weeeeell, I think the lingering effects of range anxiety will remain for a long time despite passing people sitting on the freeway out of gas on a daily basis

 

[evnow]

Chevrolet Sonic EV to Have 200-mile Range, Debut in 2017

See more at: http://www.dailytech.com/Chevrolet+...in+2017/article36704.htm#sthash.sKol8JhE.dpuf

All these websites are terrible at reporting.

Reuss just mentioned that they will make an EV. He provided zero details about it - nothing about range or what size it would be etc.

But most sites are just combining this and various speculations over the past months - and write as if he confirmed all the speculation.