volvo making a bid

[kort677]

volvo is jumping into the phev and ev game in a big way

http://www.wsj.com/articles/volvos-big-bet-on-the-electric-vehicle-market-1446132165

 

[TEG]

It wants me to login as a WSJ subscriber if I follow that link.
But if I go to WSJ home page, and navigate around, I was able to get to it that way.

Maybe this link bouncing through Google will work for a while ? :

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...E3xs2NH6dV4XdkCLw&sig2=N9dc-X0sjdr1G-Xp584UgQ

 

[tftf]

Reiterates the point I just made in the Honda FCEV thread.

Almost all major car makers will offer EVs in all price ranges from 2017-2020:

Volvo announced its first mass-production EV is slated for 2019

Quoted from the WSJ article.

 

[Electroman]

Reiterates the point I just made in the Honda FCEV thread.

Almost all major car makers will offer EVs in all price ranges from 2017-2020:
.

... and why is that a death knell for Tesla?

Careful TFTF,you are not in Seeking Alpha and so you can't BS your way here in this forum.

 

[kort677]

... and why is that a death knell for Tesla?

Careful TFTF,you are not in Seeking Alpha and so you can't BS your way here in this forum.

death knell? I don't think so.
the more manufacturers who bring EVs to market the faster the EVs become mainstream.
competition spurs innovations and lower prices, BRING IT ON!

 

[Ugliest1]

Reiterates the point I just made in the Honda FCEV thread.

Almost all major car makers will offer EVs in all price ranges from 2017-2020:

Quoted from the WSJ article.

/rant on

If I had a penny (US$ or Cdn$) for every time I heard someone say "I am going to build <something>, to be competitive in 2-4 years" and they were NOT actually able to do it or chose not to do it, I'd have enough for a couple of Model S's and an X.

Press releases are childishly simple. Concept cars are more difficult, but of course long term there's no commitment to put any of the whiz-bang stuff in actual production releases, at an affordable price (no comment about things like "rear folding seats" LOL).

What's been quite educational, and frustrating, for me once I saw just how much Tesla has achieved with the Roadster and the Model S, is, many many FUDsters yap on about Tesla not having the experience or depth to follow through, or Tesla not being green because electricity comes from coal, or Tesla is a one-trick pony, or Tesla is always late and therefore the whole company is evil, etc. Then in the next paragraph they're saying how Audi is going to have the BEST EV in 3 years. Porsche will wipe the floor with Tesla! The Bolt will be out earlier than the Model 3 and that will hamstring the Model 3. Yada yada yada.

At this point, when I see arguments about what everybody else will be delivering in the future, I simply suspend belief. Before I take *ANY* of those arguments seriously, "almost all major car makers" that will be offering "EVs in all price ranges" will actually have to *DELIVER*, and thus *PROVE* their purchase price, EPA range (forget the European cr*p testing), *BATTERY CHARGING TIME AND INFRASTRUCTURE*, and overall drivability.
/rant off

 

[RobStark]

Volvo says it plans to have 10% of its production electrified "soon."

They currently make 350k vehicles per year and like every automaker has rosy sales projections for the future.

So their commitment really means is 35k-70k PHEVs BEVs per year for the foreseeable future. Best case.

 

[tftf]

... and why is that a death knell for Tesla?

Careful TFTF,you are not in Seeking Alpha and so you can't BS your way here in this forum.

Where did I mention death knell?

I pointed out that more and more car brands will offer (longer-range) BEVs between 2017-2021 and included a quote from the WSJ article about Volvo's BEV.

However, it's business school 101 that more competition in a sector most often leads to lower prices and lower margins (even if TAM revenues soar at the same time).

Tesla also has a lot of R&D ahead of itself to bring the Model3 and other future models to market (see Volvo's investment numbers since 2011 in the article).

- - - Updated - - -

Volvo says it plans to have 10% of its production electrified "soon."

They currently make 350k vehicles per year and like every automaker has rosy sales projections for the future.

So their commitment really means is 35k-70k PHEVs BEVs per year for the foreseeable future. Best case.

No, they want to sell double that number. It's all in the article:

Volvo’s management is gearing up to double sales, to 800,000 units globally, by 2020. That’s the year they predict 10% of its total sales, or 80,000 cars, will be plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) or Electric Vehicles (its first mass-production EV is due in 2019). “We’re going all in on EVs,” said communications exec Jonathan Goodman. And, rather grandly, Volvo announced its intention to end traffic-related fatalities and serious injury to occupants of its cars.

If you don't believe in their predictions, that's fine. But then people shouldn't dismiss Volvo's numbers and at the same time quote Tesla's predictions for "500k cars by 2020" without questioning them.

 

[RobStark]

If you don't believe in their predictions, that's fine. But then people shouldn't dismiss Volvo's numbers and at the same time quote Tesla's predictions for "500k cars by 2020" without questioning them.

I am giving Volvo the benefit of the doubt and saying they might sell 700k units. Double. They are not growing volume like Tesla at 59% per year. I have predicted elsewhere 400k plus for Tesla in 2020.

 

[stopcrazypp]

If you don't believe in their predictions, that's fine. But then people shouldn't dismiss Volvo's numbers and at the same time quote Tesla's predictions for "500k cars by 2020" without questioning them.

They can dismiss the Volvo number given they have no track record at all (I still remember the false start with the c30 EV) and expect Tesla will deliver a substantial portion of their projection even if not all.

 

[tftf]

Volvo has quite a clear plan to reach this target with nine cars, especially the upcoming 40-series will help volume:

engines and transmissions for the Volvo XC40, V40 and S40 will come from the same family as the bigger Volvos, except the cheapest engine option will be a lightweight three-cylinder 1.5-litre 170bhp version of the same petrol engine. They will also use the same screen-based control, entertainment and connectivity setup as the bigger cars.
The first car off the CMA platform will be the XC40 in 2018. It’ll be made in front-drive and four-wheel drive, using the mechanical system not the expensive electrical rear axle. Then in 2019 we get the V40 and S40.
Design chief Thomas Ingenlath tells me all these cars won’t look entirely similar to one another. “The 90 cluster will look different from the 60 cluster and the 40 cluster. The XC90 isn’t a template to scale down to the XC60 and XC40. People are fed up with indistinguishable cars in a range.”
The boss Samuelsson says Volvo will stick to nine cars - a saloon hatch/wagon and SUV in the three sizes. He calls that a 3x3 strategy. Jacked-up Cross Country versions will come too, and long-wheelbase saloons for China (where Volvo has three factories) but he doesn’t count them as standalone models. But despite the lovely 2013 Concept Coupe and 2014 Concept Estate, no low-slung two-doors figure in the plan.

http://www.topgear.com/car-news/revealed-volvos-2019-masterplan

 

[RobStark]