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OT: Electric vehicles

Maybe sit this one out.
BYD and Tesla are the only auto manufacturers making their own cells, and Tesla outsourcing a majority of their supply (>90%)
Im good. I don’t mind being corrected. Its part of a good debate.

So what is happening at the Ford and GM battery plants?
 
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Im good. I don’t mind being corrected. Its part of a good debate.

So what is happening at the Ford and GM battery plants?
These are partnerships. Not Ford or GM manufacturing their own cells. SK currently supplies Ford, LG Chem for GM.
The Nevada Gigafactory is owned by Tesla and partially leased to Panasonic to manufacture 2170 cells for Tesla vehicles. Tesla also buys cells from other suppliers.
Tesla is also making their own 4680 cells in Austin (no partnership with any supplier). BYD makes their own LFP Blade batteries, again, no partnership.

Your assertion that "everyone is making batteries" is incorrect.
 
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Might be taking the plunge on a Nissan Ariya. They have dirt cheap 18 month leases. I don't have a long commute, so 18 months seems ideal to see how I like living with an EV.
 
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These are partnerships. Not Ford or GM manufacturing their own cells. SK currently supplies Ford, LG Chem for GM.
The Nevada Gigafactory is owned by Tesla and partially leased to Panasonic to manufacture 2170 cells for Tesla vehicles. Tesla also buys cells from other suppliers.
Tesla is also making their own 4680 cells in Austin (no partnership with any supplier). BYD makes their own LFP Blade batteries, again, no partnership.

Your assertion that "everyone is making batteries" is incorrect.
Aight. So VW who is already building battery factories is going to partner with a battery manufacturer. Does that sound correct?

If so the point stands that with VW’s backing QS will be able to build to scale.
 
Aight. So VW who is already building battery factories is going to partner with a battery manufacturer. Does that sound correct?

If so the point stands that with VW’s backing QS will be able to build to scale.
Correct. The current VW EV lineup is supplied by CATL (China) and LG Chem (S Korea).

VW has thrown around the idea of in house cells, but that remains to be seen.

QS reaching profitable volume production (20+ GW/yr) is not a foregone conclusion and will probably not happen this decade.
 
Correct. The current VW EV lineup is supplied by CATL (China) and LG Chem (S Korea).

VW has thrown around the idea of in house cells, but that remains to be seen.

QS reaching profitable volume production (20+ GW/yr) is not a foregone conclusion and will probably not happen this decade.
VW ontario plant is also partnership?

QS being profitable isn’t as interesting(in this thread at least) as plain ole production. If they can make these, and the batteries prove to be an improvement over current technology then that is advancement in the space. If its a significant improvement then its a significant advancement.
 
Hertz is dumping 20,000 EVs because people are not renting them
Ya posted it earlier. 1/3 of their fleet. Which also signals they won’t be buying more. Or at least not many more any time soon.

But Tesla sells a million something cars a year so Hertz was a fairly small piece of the puzzle.
 
These are partnerships. Not Ford or GM manufacturing their own cells. SK currently supplies Ford, LG Chem for GM.
The Nevada Gigafactory is owned by Tesla and partially leased to Panasonic to manufacture 2170 cells for Tesla vehicles. Tesla also buys cells from other suppliers.
Tesla is also making their own 4680 cells in Austin (no partnership with any supplier). BYD makes their own LFP Blade batteries, again, no partnership.

Your assertion that "everyone is making batteries" is incorrect.
Why does it matter to you or anyone else if it is a partnership with the OEM or a completely captive facility owned by the OEM? IMO, having been in technology and seen lots of companies structured this way for a variety of reasons, it seems to make little difference.

Everyone is making batteries is correct. Seems to be a distinction without a difference, except for the Tesla cheer team?
 
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A lot of interesting EV stuff on display at at CES 2024:

This EV pickup by VinFast is literally wild. Love the Gangster style doors, and the expandable bed.

 
Honda displayed some interesting concept cars at CES 2024



Maybe the Japanese companies are wading in slowly to bet for the longer term with improved battery technology?

"By the late-2020s, Honda says 0 Series EVs will have a lightweight, energy-dense battery that can fast-charge from 15% to 80% in 10-15 minutes."

 
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Ya, it's been mentioned a couple times above.

Thought this was a good quote that describes the current state of EV's

“The reality of EVs and Tesla’s being the best-selling car will, at some point, render them the best rental car,” Scherr said. “It’s not yet, so we may have been ahead of ourselves in the context of how quickly that will happen, but that will happen.”

Yes the transition is happening, but the industry got ahead of itself.
 
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Expandable bed = me putting down a longer plywood on top of my truck bed. With the tailgate open.
Where the hell is the Chevy EV pickup truck? Lost in space? It says on their site retail availability summer 2024.
I was keen on their design.

BTW- I put mine in for service tomorrow to address the 3 really minor recalls. I think I found the source of the creaking on the passenger side A-pillar---it seems to be a panel on the side of dashboard with an HVAC duct that emits air to keep the passenger side window clear. I quieted it down to perfection, only for it to return 2 days later. Guessing there is something with the clips and the plastic, and will let the dealer deal with it.
 
Where the hell is the Chevy EV pickup truck? Lost in space? It says on their site retail availability summer 2024.
I was keen on their design.

BTW- I put mine in for service tomorrow to address the 3 really minor recalls. I think I found the source of the creaking on the passenger side A-pillar---it seems to be a panel on the side of dashboard with an HVAC duct that emits air to keep the passenger side window clear. I quieted it down to perfection, only for it to return 2 days later. Guessing there is something with the clips and the plastic, and will let the dealer deal with it.
I know a guy who has been on the waiting list for nearly a year. Says he is like #80K on the list. Still has no clue as to when he will get it.

In general, I've seen one Hummer, a couple bolt's or volts or whatever they are called, and that's it.

I asked my buddy who works for GM in the finance wing what the problem is, and he said they just make everything so difficult. Paralysis by analysis.

I think there are still lingering supply chain issues due to COVID.
 
I know a guy who has been on the waiting list for nearly a year. Says he is like #80K on the list. Still has no clue as to when he will get it.

In general, I've seen one Hummer, a couple bolt's or volts or whatever they are called, and that's it.

I asked my buddy who works for GM in the finance wing what the problem is, and he said they just make everything so difficult. Paralysis by analysis.

I think there are still lingering supply chain issues due to COVID.
I've seen a bunch of Bolts/Volts. We have EV charging at our office building. There is also a Nissan Leaf. Not sure I would like driving one of those tiny cars.
 
I've seen a bunch of Bolts/Volts. We have EV charging at our office building. There is also a Nissan Leaf. Not sure I would like driving one of those tiny cars.
Hyundai IonQ? I've seen a bunch of those lately. Not a great looking car imo.

A newer narrative is that people don't want EV's, they want Tesla's.

I don't know how true that is in general, but I would think there is much stronger demand for TSLA's then these small, ugly, low performance alternatives.

RIVN's look pretty good, I see a bunch of them. Think the HUMMR is impressive, imagine there would be demand, but can GM get them produced. Would think the Blazer would see demand as well, but again, can GM get them made?
 
Hyundai IonQ? I've seen a bunch of those lately. Not a great looking car imo.

I newer narrative is that people don't EV's, they want Tesla's.

I don't know how true that is in general, but I would think there is much stronger demand for TSLA's then these small, ugly, low performance alternatives.
I like the looks of IonQ, but opinions vary. I have never liked the styling of most of the Tesla Models. Friends have them, and don't particularly care for the interior or the interior appointments. But that's personal taste.
 
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Ya, it's been mentioned a couple times above.

Thought this was a good quote that describes the current state of EV's

“The reality of EVs and Tesla’s being the best-selling car will, at some point, render them the best rental car,” Scherr said. “It’s not yet, so we may have been ahead of ourselves in the context of how quickly that will happen, but that will happen.”

Yes the transition is happening, but the industry got ahead of itself.
My buddy runs fleet operations at his company and the CEO decided to deploy 200 Teslas to executives. Said it’s been a nightmare between issues with installing charging stations at exec’s homes and repair costs to maintain the cars are apparently way higher than they were led to believe. Their business case for going EV is apparently upside down.
 
My buddy runs fleet operations at his company and the CEO decided to deploy 200 Teslas to executives. Said it’s been a nightmare between issues with installing charging stations at exec’s homes and repair costs to maintain the cars are apparently way higher than they were led to believe. Their business case for going EV is apparently upside down.
Well that's a one time thing, that I assume was factored in at the start, or at least should have been.
 
Where the hell is the Chevy EV pickup truck? Lost in space? It says on their site retail availability summer 2024.
I was keen on their design.

BTW- I put mine in for service tomorrow to address the 3 really minor recalls. I think I found the source of the creaking on the passenger side A-pillar---it seems to be a panel on the side of dashboard with an HVAC duct that emits air to keep the passenger side window clear. I quieted it down to perfection, only for it to return 2 days later. Guessing there is something with the clips and the plastic, and will let the dealer deal with it.
I brought my in for tail light recall and service. They did a tire rotation. Do you need that for full time 4wd?
 
I like the looks of IonQ, but opinions vary. I have never liked the styling of most of the Tesla Models. Friends have them, and don't particularly care for the interior or the interior appointments. But that's personal taste.
The Y is meh, but def better then the bolt. Yet it's the best selling car in world. So who knows?
 
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The Y is meh, but def better then the bolt. Yet it's the best selling car in world. So who knows?
There's no denying that Tesla is the world's EV vehicle leader. One friend lovers her Model 3, and other other friend has mixed reviews on his Y (seems to have had it's share of problems). But all vehicles have problems. IDK if the link below is accurate or not.

With my Lightning, there have been 3 minor recalls- potential issue with the taillight developing microcracks, a silly problem with a rubber mat on the top of the dashboard, and a major software update. With new technology, these things are to be expected with any manufacturer. I don't like the way the fans/haters use a recall or a relatively minor issue with a brand that they don't like to cast stones at the brand. EVs by design should be more reliable because there are less moving engine parts.

https://www.topspeed.com/tesla-reliability-and-repair-costs-the-true-story/
 
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Ya, it's been mentioned a couple times above.

Thought this was a good quote that describes the current state of EV's

“The reality of EVs and Tesla’s being the best-selling car will, at some point, render them the best rental car,” Scherr said. “It’s not yet, so we may have been ahead of ourselves in the context of how quickly that will happen, but that will happen.”

Yes the transition is happening, but the industry got ahead of itself.
I’ve basically been saying for a while that I suspect the adoption rate will slow. It’s a logical guess based on all the factors involved, including American vehicle consumer sensibilities. No doubt the transition will continue, but I think politicians will be forced to push mandate dates a bit.

Earlier articles about the Hertz situation indicated that repair costs were a factor in Hertz decision to shed the EVs. And there’s little doubt that Tesla’s aggressive price cutting is a factor as it’s been devaluing Hertz’s fleet which hits them on their bottom line.

So I’d agree Tesla has the advantage in terms of production and probably ability to negotiate lower fleet purchase pricing now and for a while. But in a couple years or so, the math might change based on post-purchase costs.
 
I’ve basically been saying for a while that I suspect the adoption rate will slow. It’s a logical guess based on all the factors involved, including American vehicle consumer sensibilities. No doubt the transition will continue, but I think politicians will be forced to push mandate dates a bit.

Earlier articles about the Hertz situation indicated that repair costs were a factor in Hertz decision to shed the EVs. And there’s little doubt that Tesla’s aggressive price cutting is a factor as it’s been devaluing Hertz’s fleet which hits them on their bottom line.

So I’d agree Tesla has the advantage in terms of production and probably ability to negotiate lower fleet purchase pricing now and for a while. But in a couple years or so, the math might change based on post-purchase costs.
I bet Hertz is a bit peeved at TSLA's price cuts. I get it, it's their bad for buying at the peak of a bubble, but they took a beating on the whole deal.

But I think this current adoption slow down could be a short term phenomena that reverses in a year or two. Would require the current wave of EV's to perform well, would also require further build out in charging.

Further price cuts across the space would help as well.
 
I bet Hertz is a bit peeved at TSLA's price cuts. I get it, it's their bad for buying at the peak of a bubble, but they took a beating on the whole deal.

But I think this current adoption slow down could be a short term phenomena that reverses in a year or two. Would require the current wave of EV's to perform well, would also require further build out in charging.

Further price cuts across the space would help as well.
I thought the slowdown would come a couple/few years later. When the interested buyers who own houses (so can charge at home) started to thin out some. But for some reason, although still going strong, it seems adoption has already apparently slowed up some from the earlier frantic pace.
 
I thought the slowdown would come a couple/few years later. When the interested buyers who own houses (so can charge at home) started to thin out some. But for some reason, although still going strong, it seems adoption has already apparently slowed up some from the earlier frantic pace.
Frantic pace describes it best. That was just unlikely to continue.

I also think the narrative has switched to "slowing demand" when the real issue is a flood of supply.
 
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Well that's a one time thing, that I assume was factored in at the start, or at least should have been.
Issue is that installation costs vary greatly depending on the area (metro areas are sky high) and how easy/hard it is to get the circuit from the garage to the circuit breaker box. Some circuits have to run the length of the house and requires cutting into finished areas. Then those finished areas need to be restored meaning crap like spackling/painting.
 
Issue is that installation costs vary greatly depending on the area (metro areas are sky high) and how easy/hard it is to get the circuit from the garage to the circuit breaker box. Some circuits have to run the length of the house and requires cutting into finished areas. Then those finished areas need to be restored meaning crap like spackling/painting.
Again, this sounds like this should have all been known before hand.
 
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