Featured Toyota still balking on EV's

Carter also stated, “On electrification, we see an opportunity in North America, but it’s much further down the road. The average vehicle today costs $34,000 and for many EVs, the battery costs $34,000.”

For that to be remotely true, battery costs would not have improved since the introduction of the Leaf and Volt.

 

Infrastructure limits to are why I won’t consider all-elec. one of MANY examples: You live in an apartment complex and have no access to parking at work..charging is unavailable and unfeasible at home/at work. Traveling to a charging station (hope it’s not too far away) + charge time needed: unfeasible. This issue, plus range anxiety (the 2 are totally interconnected) are deal-breakers for me. [BTW I’m on my 2ndPrius since 204).

 

i knew vdumb would eventually balk. lock them up! lock them up!

 

What is VW balking at? Their executive basically said the opposite of Toyota's at that event.
The exec added that Volkswagen’s research has indicated that electric vehicles are at the top of numerous consumers’ list for their future vehicles; thus, “even if it’s 10 percent of the market, we want to pursue it (electromobility).”

They have multiple plug ins across their brands already available in the US, and they are investing in the Tennessee plant to make the ID SUV locally for here.

 

sorry, i mixed up my executives

 

Hahah pretty funny! 35K Tesla!!

 

Another data point:

The round trip was 255 miles and cost $7.06 total, $5.50 full battery and $1.56 for a 10 minute SuperCharger, pee, and coffee break. At $2.50/gal in Huntsville, this would mean ~94 MPG equivalent cost.​

Bob Wilson

 

Confused more like it!

 

Not confused, just easily seduced like so many other early adopters.

Most of us see right past that appeal to limited reach groups.

 

Easy to do. One works for a company that brought low emission, high efficiency hybrids to market, but is against EVs that don't use hydrogen, and the other company cheated on car emissions, but appears to become a big producer of BEVs in the future.

What does this have to do with my response to bisco?

 

I am sorry. Let me clarify. No confusion on my end. It’s just a blur.

 

the data was released (leaked) that GM worked a deal for Chevy Bolt batteries at $150 per kwh. At that figure - a 65kwh (includes a 5kWh upper/lower total abuffer) traction pack would cost around $9,750.
Maybe Carter figures he can get around $21,000 for installation/labor costs.

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All fair points on an individual level, but they don't translate well to Toyota delaying releasing an all-electric. There are a lot of people out there where the range issue/infrastructure issues aren't a deal breaker. It sounds like Toyota is betting that they can quickly turn something like a Prius Prime into a full electric quickly rather than investing in all-electric design now. That might be a smart bet, that might not.

 

Just to correct that a little bit - the battery cells were $145/kwh that doesn't include the balance of the pack.
Manufacturer Cost Comparison Between Tesla Model 3 And Chevy Bolt

Bolding is mine. Anyway by the time toyota ships a bev to north america I expect a bolt pack to be less than $10K and a tesla pack to be even less expensive.

 

2004 Prius deja vu
One could lose track of all of the Automotive detractors when the Gen 2 Prius came out - lauding the fact that Toyota was losing money on them due to their expensive traction pack & inverter .... + Ice. Never was there an emphasis that manufacturing cost materials would come down. Now the FUF'sters have had to move on to plug-ins. They will for a little while - at least.
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The Bolt's battery is half the size it needs to be to replace conventional cars or hybrids, and if it were twice as big it would need to be bigger yet just to have the energy to carry its own weight.

What we need is a 120kWh Camry-sized vehicle where the battery costs ~$4,000. That would leave room for the cost of the propulsion system.

 

Listen to the whisper, not the rhetoric. That all-electric 152 hp drive system already in use by Mirai would make a nice setup for the next-gen Prius...

 

with large / medium & small SUVs being the hot ticket now days in the USA, a 4-seater platform's success would seem to be a stretch on real possibilities. Maybe on a little island country like Japan?
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The Prius isn't wide enough for a 5th passenger in the rear seat anyway, in my opinion. I used it about 5 times in 13 years in my 2004 Prius, and it was uncomfortable even for someone who weighed under 100 pounds.

My Mom has an Avalon. That's how wide a car needs to be to comfortably fit 3 people across the back seat.