BMW says electric car mass production not viable until 2020

Post by mulmen » Thu, Mar 22, 2018, 7:42 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #107

mulmen wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does VW already know how to make electric vehicles? How many would they sell relative to their total sales of existing ICE vans? Is it worth starting up an entire new business for one customer? I think this can be explained by VW just deciding its not worth it rather than saying VW is trying to suppress electric vehicle development.

If you want to get serious about developing EV technology, why not start with a big customer that has a use case that makes the problem a lot easier? Also, small vans for use inside cities is a big market. All delivery services need them, all kinds of workmen need them. With bans for Diesel cars in German cities on the horizon all kinds of businesses are complaining because Diesels are the only offering in that categ…

Post by JBReefer » Thu, Mar 22, 2018, 7:46 PM UTC

d1zzy wrote: post #88

kazen44 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is usually the case. Retooling an assembly line is a ton of work, and NOT producing at scale is impossible for modern, highly automated car factories like VW, Mercedes or BMW own. Producing 100 cars is simply not possible in these factories, because it would mean massive losses to the factory owner. Also, car manufacturers do not want one supplier for a part, they want several. Mostly as a backup and also to mak…

Do we have some data on how thin the margin is for entry level subcompact cars? I was always under the impression that cars are sold at the "market price", regardless of production costs which usually meant at much higher price than production costs.

Post by Barrin92 » Thu, Mar 22, 2018, 7:50 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #110

kickopotomus wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla is not proof of that. Tesla is an EV company from the ground up. They also do not have the capacity to produce vehicles at the rate of companies like BMW, Mercedes, Honda, etc. Moreover, car companies do not have "infinite cash reserves". Retooling factories for EV production is an expensive undertaking. Combined with the expense of lithium cells and supply issues, it's not a simple or cheap task.

VW's profit in 2017 has been more than ten billion Euros. That kind of money could fund a lot R&D and retooling factories.

Post by ksk » Thu, Mar 22, 2018, 7:54 PM UTC

ploxiln wrote: post #76

rwbt wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if you know how innovative the BMW i3 is. They decided to go for an entirely different manufacturing process using Carbon Fibre instead of traditional steel stamping and it's entire supply chain is built on renewable energy. That's a big commitment on BMWs part. Alas, the market didn't think of it the same way. The i3 might not be a looker but it's probably one of the most innovative cars ever produced i…

Sounds more like a vanity project, than a real commercially competitive product.

Post by _0w8t » Thu, Mar 22, 2018, 7:55 PM UTC

lttlrck wrote: post #26

marcell wrote: post #12

For all the crap Tesla gets, this shows why they are so necessary. Switching to electric car production is a huge disruption for the existing auto industry. It basically eliminates the dealer service revenue, and turns the supply chain upside down. I doubt they would be making any effort in electric cars if the threat of Tesla did not exist. Even as it is, they are dragging their feet.

How does it eliminate dealer service revenue? If anything goes wrong on a car these days it has been my experience it's quite unlikely to be anything specific to ICE. It'll be electromechanical (mirrors, seats, windows, locks), electrical (heating, cooling), mechanical (suspension bushes, axle boots, springs) and the biggest wear items brake and tires also remain...