Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Chevrolet, GM
GM: Buy the Volt, rent the battery?
To keep the price of the Volt low, GM is considering renting the battery. I guess that explains the use of the term "consumer cost" when Lutz said the Volt would cost under $30,000. I have to admit, GM is planning some innovative things. I thought the series hybrid was innovative enough. Now renting parts of cars? This might change everything.
I wonder if E-Flex will incorporate aspects of GM's skateboard concept? Think about it, if you rent the battery and I guess buy the car, if I stop paying for the battery, don't I keep the car and you take the battery? I wonder if they will have a used battery market? This battery was only used by an old lady to go to church on Sundays. It has 10 years left easy, I promise :D
I wonder if they sell the car without the battery? THAT would be interesting! Who knows what they will do? It will probably be something in the contract for buying the car. This could be a real money-maker for them. Think of the recurring revenue coming from a car with rented parts? ...maybe this is not such a great deal for consumers after all. I have never seen a good contract for long term rentals.
[Source: Financial Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kardax 8:47AM (8/14/2007)
I don't think a lot of people will react well to a "hidden" cost like that.
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Lascelles 9:02AM (8/14/2007)
Mlhm5, Even if they change the name and a few things, I think it's fair to call GM's first E-Flex car the Volt right now for purposes of this article.
http://www.thegmsource.com/index.php?categoryid=9&p2_articleid=579
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Lascelles 9:05AM (8/14/2007)
I wonder if all the contracts will be lease like the EV-1s?
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phil easler 9:11AM (8/14/2007)
Sounds like GM is taking a play out of Th!nk City / Google play book. It's a good idea. Lowers the price of the new vehicle and insures the customer that his/hers battery doesn't die.
Phil from Chapel Hill
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FrankTheCrank 9:38AM (8/14/2007)
The idea of exchangeable batteries is a great idea. But leasing or renting the batteries. That's kinda stupid.
They should make the batteries easily interchangeable in a manner where you can easily drive to the dealer and get it swapped out, very much like the UPS batteries in those APC UPS's.
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scatter 9:55AM (8/14/2007)
Frank, who would pay for the old batteries that need replacing? I can't quite see GM absorbing a cost of that size. The battery exchange programme would have to be combined with some sort of leasing/fee structure.
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Really! 9:58AM (8/14/2007)
This post is ill-written in the "diarrhea" style of many leftists.
Stay focused.
You jumped from one opinion to the opposite in two sentences.
Look. This idea is innovative, and we are yet to see how it may work out.
If it is confirmed to be true, we will have to look at the details. We are so far away from "this is a bad idea", it isn't funny.
--------------------------
Britain's Channel 4 braves the storm:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3028847519933351566
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Alex84 10:05AM (8/14/2007)
Strange that you didn't mention in the article that Think is planning on doing the same thing. Leasing out the battery that is. There will be a monthly payment for them. In return your battery will be serviced for free and always in ship shape.
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JB 10:16AM (8/14/2007)
It does open up an interesting possibility when it comes to 3rd party battery pack suppliers - how difficult (other than the investment cost) would it be to come up with a competing battery supply source? Time and again, people have shown they are willing to forgo the warranty on vehicle (a la plug in conversions) to get a better result. With a swappable battery pack, this would get a bit easier if there were alternate suppliers.
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Snark 10:56AM (8/14/2007)
They should make the batteries easily interchangeable in a manner where you can easily drive to the dealer and get it swapped out, very much like the UPS batteries in those APC UPS's."
And deal with wear and tear to the high voltage connections, possibly exposing oneself to the risk of electrocution, and imposing a ridiculous limitation on the design of the vehicle? No thanks. The batteries will last ten years; it's hardly as if you'll need to be swapping them out, and given how fast people turn vehicles over these days, you'll never see the day when the battery needs replacement.
I can see a separate lease for the battery, though.
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mlhm5 10:58AM (8/14/2007)
GM never intends to market the VOLT. It is only a concept vehicle that Lutz is exploiting to highlight GM and get free press.
GM really has no credibility with investors or the car buying public after they touted the hybrid for so long and then announced it was dead and the future was hydrogen powered vehicles.
The new Chrysler just threw down yesterday and maybe a different company.
Link
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Snark 10:59AM (8/14/2007)
"GM never intends to market the VOLT. It is only a concept vehicle that Lutz is exploiting to highlight GM and get free press."
First: the name isn't capitalized.
Of course it's never going to be produced, at least not in its present form. That'd be ridiculous.
Given that they've already appointed a vehicle line manager, are actively funding A123's battery development, and are finalizing the styling, I'd say it's very likely that it'll be produced in some form.
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Snark 11:00AM (8/14/2007)
"The new Chrysler just threw down yesterday and maybe a different company."
The new Chrysler has a long way to go before it's in the shape even GM is, let alone being a healthy, prosperous corporation.
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mlhm5 11:09AM (8/14/2007)
Here is the Chrysler "throw down" link
http://autoblognews.com/chrysler-exec-explains-who-is-trying-to-stop-alternative-fuels/
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mlhm5 11:23AM (8/14/2007)
GM has a long history of promising and then under delivering. Why should anyone believe the Volt will be marketed?
Sounds exactly like a "sliver bullet" car, so far in the future that its specs are so cloudy that no one can make comparisons.
If GM wanted to market a high mileage vehicle that would appeal to American buyers, they already manufacture one.
European fleets already average 43 miles per gallon and Japanese fleets are reaching 50 miles per gallon. While there are only two car models in the United States that achieve greater than 40 miles per gallon (both hybrid vehicles), there are more than 113 such vehicles in Europe.
The most astounding fact is that many of the European high fuel-economy vehicles are produced by US car makers. How can the government let manufacturers continue to convince the nation that a fuel economy of over 35 miles per gallon is difficult to achieve? Any rational person should not be willing to accept these manufacturers' excuses."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/13/a_drive_toward_fuel_economy/
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Lascelles 12:06PM (8/14/2007)
Mlhm5, Sorry but that Op Ed sucked. There is a CAFE standard in the bill. It's going by the House one more time. So the Markey has another shot. It's not technology either. It's just smaller cars. I think GM will change because it's not just a law this time. It's the culture. In the end, we won't know until this all plays out. We are judging company promises and unfinished law. We can all agree, GM killing the EV-1 and a lack of a CAFE standard for decades does not give anyone much hope.
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kert 12:54PM (8/14/2007)
Given that they've already appointed a vehicle line manager,
Hey, we have a manager appointed ! That sure nails it. You ever read Dilbert, perchance ?
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Ron Fischer 6:32PM (8/14/2007)
A significant advantage for GM in leasing the battery is that, with a lower initial vehicle cost, consumers will be MUCH more willing to purchase very profitable add-ons like leather seats, entertainment and navigation systems, chrome trim, etc. The was a key problem with the EV-1 in terms of marketing: you had a very basic vehicle, with no profit margin, that was rather pricey, meaning consumers had no discretionary / aspirational spending left.
So, leasing the battery will help in (somewhat) unexpected ways.
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bioburner 9:00PM (8/14/2007)
I like the idea of getting the purchase price down to less than $30,000. That makes it way more affordable than a Tesla. Even if GM didn't come up with the idea of leasing the batteries it still shows forward thinking. Hay lets wait and look at the details and see what what they are offering. If you don't like the deal you have to buy it.
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Lascelles 9:02PM (8/14/2007)
Bioburner, Tesla says they will have a full electric out around the same time for under $30,000 as well.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/12/18/san-jose-mercury-news-interviews-teslas-elon-musk/
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