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Mitsubishi Motors i MiEV
- Thread starter DDB
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- Electric Vehicles
ABG has a gallery with more photos:
Mitsubishi releases new pics of the production iMiEV - AutoblogGreen
Mitsubishi releases new pics of the production iMiEV - AutoblogGreen
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
And it is way higher than what was being tossed around a few months ago. We won't *really* know until they'rea *really* for sale, of course. Still, I'm thinking it might be better to announce a price like that than what happened with the Volt. It was going to be "under $30k, and now it is likely over $40k.
Any way you slice it, it puts the announced price of the S in perspective.
Any way you slice it, it puts the announced price of the S in perspective.
graham
Active Member
It truly does! I wonder if the perspective is "Wow the Model S price is amazingly low" or "There is no way Tesla can hit that price point and make money!"
Edit to add: Ha! Cobos and I had the same thought
Yes Tesla is either really really good at getting their car produced cheaply or they were wildly optimistic with their initial price
Cobos
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Certainly expect the price to be high to avoid disappointment, but I think it'll be closer to $36-40k if it gets to the US.
I say this because the exchange rate isn't the best way to estimate car prices. This iMIEV is 15% more in yen than a top spec V6 Inspire (same as the Accord in America) with navigation and the same spec Accord costs $31k here while costing ~$40k in Japan if you directly convert the exchange rate. This means if it's US prices, the iMIEV will be closer to $31k/85% = $36k rather than $47k.
Hopefully they can get it lower with volume. If the Volt can be built for $40k, there is no reason why the iMIEV can't be build for quite a bit lower since the battery size is the same, the iMIEV's base car costs less than the Volt's (which is based on the larger Cruze), and it doesn't need all the ICE components that the Volt needs.
I say this because the exchange rate isn't the best way to estimate car prices. This iMIEV is 15% more in yen than a top spec V6 Inspire (same as the Accord in America) with navigation and the same spec Accord costs $31k here while costing ~$40k in Japan if you directly convert the exchange rate. This means if it's US prices, the iMIEV will be closer to $31k/85% = $36k rather than $47k.
Hopefully they can get it lower with volume. If the Volt can be built for $40k, there is no reason why the iMIEV can't be build for quite a bit lower since the battery size is the same, the iMIEV's base car costs less than the Volt's (which is based on the larger Cruze), and it doesn't need all the ICE components that the Volt needs.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
It must be the UQM motor driving the price up. I can put together a 16kw lithium pack in my back yard for $6K, they should be able to do much better, the glider can't cost very much, in house battery management should be pretty cheap too. I don't get it.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I guess I'm just confused because I thought the Mitsubishi was also using a UQM. My mistake. In that case I have no idea why the MiEV costs so much, other than they are trying to recoup some developmental costs.
Does that $6K guesstimate for the battery pack include the capacity margin? Does it include packaging? That itty bitty bubble car will need good packaging.
The glider could be surprisingly expensive. It has to be light, yet strong. A small car doesn't cost much less to build than a large one. That's one of many things that hurt the big three. In the USA you can't price a small car nearly as high as a bigger one. That cuts profit margins to the bone, and beyond.
I'm sure there's a learning curve for automotive power electronics, too. The small scale kit manufacturers have problems. I'm sure the big manufacturers are just starting to solve similar issues. It takes time to reduce manufacturing costs. Economies of scale don't happen by magic. it takes multiple iterations.
I'm more worried that Mitsubishi is pulling another EV1. That they're pricing it below cost for lease purposes.
I don't think anybody would have leased an EV1 if GM had priced the lease at manufacturing cost plus overhead.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I assume when they say 16kw battery that's the total size of the battery, not adjusted for usable capacity. If it's only usable capacity add 20%, but remember, this is my cost as an individual. Bulk purchasing should get lower costs. As for packaging, if the batteries are set under the floor they are already pretty well protected, and the pictures don't show any elaborate packaging. Inertia switches could be used in a few places to break the pack into low voltage modules upon impact. All of which is probably simpler and cheaper than designing and tuning just the emissions system for an ICE.
This is the big unknown which I cannot find any good information on. What is the manufacturing cost of a glider? I've found no solid information. However, an ICE glider should not be any cheaper than an EV glider.
Except they aren't exactly using cutting edge technology for the drive train as far as I can tell. Electric motor and controller, a BMS for the battery which is probably just voltage and temperature sensing, what's the big deal?
If $47k is below cost they will have big problems. Tesla is pricing their much larger and higher performance sedan pretty close to the MiEV, and Tesla has some experience in what it costs to build an EV.
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