Came across this. Great article about the race to get the first "affordable" 200 mile electric car in the market. The story of Elon Musk and GM Quartz
Thanks for the article. I still don't believe GM will have a 200 range EV out by the time the Model 3 rolls around. When I see it, I'll believe it.
I would be willing to bet that they won't have an EV, period. Not counting compliance cars, of course.
GM may have a 200 mile EV at that point, but I have little hope of them having a 200 mile car that would have any appeal to the average person who is willing to spend 35k on a car. A 55kWh chevy sonic is possible, but if given the choice between a sonic and a Model 3, almost everyone is going to think that a model 3 is the better choice. I have little faith in GM to make a compelling midsize sedan or medium SUV EV, even though there an offering in either of these classes would sell very well.
They also have the dealer network burden, which adds $severalk. However, it does also mean that they could expand volume much faster than Tesla, which will have to build out Service Centers to match volume.
I'd bet against that. You don't think GM will be producing any EVs, other than for CARB compliance, at the time of Model 3 introduction? Rumor has it the Spark EV is going national soon, and it sounds like the Sonic EV might be starting as a compliance car but expand from there.
Almost everyone? What percentage of people never even heard of Tesla? If Tesla doesn't advertise the Model 3, it'll still sell very well, but there will be plenty of people who will buy GM because they don't know any better. I'd say close to half of the people who ask about my car never even heard of Tesla, which is very surprising to me.
GM is not the enemy, it's just another opponent/competitor. The real enemy is ICE. Therefore, it would actually be very good if other car manufacturers would present/reveal a compelling, practical, appealing, efficiënt, $35k and 200 mile EV. But I doubt it that any other car manufacturer will present/reveal such an EV before 2020. The Tesla Model 3 will be the only EV that will have such qualities, at least for a few years. And that is not so good actually. We need more good quality EV models like the Tesla Model 3. The sooner the better. A higher global EV marketshare is what we actually want.
I would love to see GM offering a compelling 200 mile car at a reasonable price. Competition is good and it will serve our planet too!
Here is the URL of that Kia Soul info graphic http://www.kia.com/us/k3/content/media/downloads/compare/Kia_Soul-EV_Infographic.jpg It's actually not too bad. But in the vehicle comparison chart at the bottom the Kia Soul EV MSRP and EPA MPGe numbers are not shown, just "TBA". And it only shows the Model S 60, not the 85. Back on topic, I think it is entirely possible that by 2017 GM could have a 200 mile range EV. I hope they do.
Cost. Power density. Gravimetric energy density. Those the 3 properties of cells with numbers not specifiedin that article.
Just started a topic on Sakti3 elsewhere on TMC so folks can track that company and its claims/hype/news.
Even if another car manufacturer does somehow manage to produce such an EV. The Tesla Supercharger network will make a very big difference. The Tesla Model 3 + the Tesla Supercharger network = an unbeatable combination = the best possible value propesition
I don't know much about solid state lithium batteries. The company seems to talk a lot about cost and energy density. The thing I haven't seen much information about is power density.
I'm all about more competition and EVs, I just don't want it to seem like GM has been all about EVs all along. Elon is the one getting out there, doing interviews, talking about why we need EVs and sustainable energy sources. GM is going along with the new kid. Principles I guess....
I would be willing to bet that by the time Model 3 is rolling off the line, virtually everyone would have heard of Tesla.