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Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

gizmodo.com

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Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#41

Post by jbm »

SoftTalker wrote: post #29
degenerate wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

exactly - the rejection of short range EVs was when they cost as much as a normal car if the short range EV is now much cheaper, people will adapt to the restriction because it's an affordable option

Would have to be very affordable. Like well under $10K. Otherwise I'll just buy a used ICE vehicle and have a lot more flexibility in how I use it.

Even Cargo Bicycles cost more than $10k. I think a 6 seater people mover is worth far more than those.

I'd buy a 6 seater with this range but not with the speed limitations (I think it is like 50-60 kph which is a non starter)

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#42

Post by cucumber3732842 »

bruce511 wrote: post #15

The Ford CEO is not wrong. Allowing foreign imports into the country at prices far below what US producers are able to make will decimate the local car industry in the US. There are 4 possible solutions to this problem; a) convince Americans that it's worth paying more for a locally built product. This is the simplest approach, but there's only so much margin here that the consumer will tolerate. At the moment this g…

>This is one of those "the internet is a fad, it'll never catch on" moments. EV's are here to stay.

Not saying you're one of them (there are other people here who fit the bill much better) but like with anything else the people on the internet peddling grand narratives lacking of nuance are delusional fanboys, malevolent liars or some combination of the two. EVs are absolutely going to win certain market segments and take good chunks out of others. Unless the government gets out of the business of regulating the crap out of electrical infrastructure at great cost to us all there will likely be a whole bunch of heavier use cases where they just can't pencil out barring some yet unforeseeable breakthrough in the basic physics of batteries.

I think the auto industry is wise to think about the upcoming ~30yr transition period where all that shakes itself out and how to invest the right amount into keeping ICE stuff competitive but without investing to the detriment of winning the EV segment, etc, etc, standard big business stuff.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#43

Post by JumpCrisscross »

bruce511 wrote: post #15

The Ford CEO is not wrong. Allowing foreign imports into the country at prices far below what US producers are able to make will decimate the local car industry in the US. There are 4 possible solutions to this problem; a) convince Americans that it's worth paying more for a locally built product. This is the simplest approach, but there's only so much margin here that the consumer will tolerate. At the moment this g…

The playbook to study is South Korea. Protectionism and subsidies for nascent and transitioning industries with a clear ex ante timeline to full liberalization to force international competitiveness. Absent the latter, American car companies’ inefficiencies in design and labour structure have zero incentive to change, and American consumers get stuck with shitty, expensive products.

For cars, this would mean federally-guaranteed loans up to the median value of a plant for any manufacturer with any production base worldwide (the plant to be built or retrofitted in America, of course) plus an N-year (N set to the expected payback period for a new or retrofitted plant) tariff schedule starting very high before decreasing to virtually zero. Maybe also pass a special bankruptcy regime to expedite the redistribution of assets for those who fail to really send the message that failure is an option.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#45

Post by fajmccain »

gwbas1c wrote: post #3

> It remains to be seen whether the Olinia One will face similar pushback from the U.S. once it goes on sale. > can travel up to 125 kilometers (77 miles) on a single charge The US market generally rejects small-range EVs, except in very niche markets. In order to succeed in the US, it will need roughly 3-4x the range. In order for this to succeed in Mexico, their market will need different driving habits than the ty…

This new EV is to replace motorcycles and scooters that are ubiquitous in mexico. If it succeeds in getting 100k people off of motorcycles it will have the side benefit of reducing healthcare costs treating motorcycle accidents.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#46

Post by catlikesshrimp »

CalRobert wrote: post #5
gwbas1c wrote: post #3

> It remains to be seen whether the Olinia One will face similar pushback from the U.S. once it goes on sale. > can travel up to 125 kilometers (77 miles) on a single charge The US market generally rejects small-range EVs, except in very niche markets. In order to succeed in the US, it will need roughly 3-4x the range. In order for this to succeed in Mexico, their market will need different driving habits than the ty…

"The car is designed for urban settings and has a top speed of 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour." I don't think range will be an issue at that speed tbh. Cool little transport but not really a "car" in the way we think of them.

An amusing coincidence: the maximum allowed speed in Nicaragua is 50 km/h If This wasn't about to countries in America, I would suspect something technical behind those decisions. The only thing I can think of is the loss of energy efficiency when driving over 60km/h

As with everything, finding an official announcement of something in Nicaragua might be horrible, so have this instead https://ni.usembassy.gov/message-for-u-s-citizens-new-speed-...

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#47

Post by dsr_ »

floxy wrote: post #30
apparent wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the US, a range of 77 miles is a complete non starter. You'd have to charge it every single day. If not multiple times a day in some peoples cases. It's true that some people drive more than 77 miles per day. But a pretty big chunk of people never do, except road trips/vacations. It could easily be worth it to buy a cheap EV for everyday use and then rent a vehicle for long trips.

Or you own more than vehicle. Plenty of families own multiple vehicles, and they don't all need to have tons of range.

At $8500, I could justify having a 77 mile range electric car with a top speed of 30ish mph. That would take care of every in-town trip, but I couldn't do a full commute to work with it because the most sensible way of doing that involves a highway. If it could manage 50mph for 15 minutes, it could go on the highway and I could recharge at or near the office.

The cheapest EV currently available in the US is the Chevy Bolt, at $29000, about three times the price. A Bolt has four times the range, but still not quite enough to go one way on my most frequent "long drive".

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#48

Post by Animats »

kelseyfrog wrote: post #40
Animats wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems to fill a useful niche, but may be too downscale. Remember the Tata Nano.[1] Tata built a basic car with a price below 1 lahk, but it didn't sell. In the US, there's Slate, which claims to be making a small electric pickup truck. "Preorders will start on June 24, 2026. First deliveries are slated for late 2026." [2] Price in the US$20K range, they claim. Claimed range is 150m with the base model battery. A…

> Claimed range is 150m with the base model battery. Surely 150km

Sorry, 150 miles. Not km, Slate is a US company.

Re: Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV

#50

Post by apparent »

degenerate wrote: post #28
apparent wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the US, a range of 77 miles is a complete non starter. You'd have to charge it every single day. If not multiple times a day in some peoples cases. It's true that some people drive more than 77 miles per day. But a pretty big chunk of people never do, except road trips/vacations. It could easily be worth it to buy a cheap EV for everyday use and then rent a vehicle for long trips.

exactly - the rejection of short range EVs was when they cost as much as a normal car if the short range EV is now much cheaper, people will adapt to the restriction because it's an affordable option

Yep, you can pick up used Leafs for super cheap (under $10k, sometimes substantially) and if they fit your use case, they're an amazing deal. Mostly helpful as a second car for a family, or as a city car for someone who never plans to road trip in it.
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