US automakers bent over a hybrid battery?
A couple of GM lithium-ion battery packsSo, Toyota can't keep up with hybrid demand because of a lack of battery packs. GM's mild hybrid vehicles have suffered sluggish sales due to a battery malfunction, and GM still has yet to finalize battery technology for the Chevy Volt. When it comes to the future of the automobile, batteries are becoming the key technology.
By next year, Toyota could be close to producing a million hybrid vehicles per year. Honda, the second biggest hybrid producer, is hoping to sell a couple hundred thousand hybrids per year. Every other automaker is talking tens of thousands of hybrids, if any at all, and some automakers seem pinned to lithium-ion technology.
Now, lithium might be the future for hybrids and electric vehicles, but that future might still be at least 5 years away from mass-production viability, unless Toyota gets there first. However, if Toyota is selling a million hybrids, or more, per year by next year, can US automakers afford to wait several more years before truly taking on Toyota's hybrids?
Labels: Hybrid Vehicles, lithium battery
posted by Dahcredyns at
6:59 AM
10 Comments:
the big 3 are already dead, they just don't know it yet.
I'm surprised the big 3 lasted this long. I say ¡adios!
I don't know. There is a lot of good cost restructuring going on in the Big 3. Plus, sales outside the US have been pretty good, and I think this is a trend that will continue to build. Is that enough to save the Big 3 - a lot of analysts seem to believe so.
Of course, if US automakers sell and build most of their automobiles outside the US, are they still 'US' automakers?
I am sure that I sound like a broken record, but wouldn't it be nice if the auto makers could (and would) use the Chevron owned Panasonic EV-95 NiMH batteries that are currently used in the Toyota RAV4 EV's? They have been around for years and could easily be put into production at a moment's notice....but no, not meant to be.
Imagine the hybrid capabilities using this battery as a parallel mode or dual mode or serial plug in mode hybrid or even all electric mode. The possibilities go on and on....and the reality is that the battery technology is here and now and proven and rugged and not some unknown entity five years down the road...
dahcredyns,
Did you here about that "Plug in America" group that put out a press release today? They are calling for consumers to tell car companies we won't buy another car that we can't plug in.
With the Prius scarcity these days (I live in Los Angeles) looks like I should at least consider my electric car options. Any options in the 50 mile per charge range out there these days? Used Rav4 EV?
What most piqued my interest about a straight electric car is the theoretically much higher reliability. Fewer moving parts, less maintenance, regenerative braking, etc.
Sorry to hijack the thread, but any thoughts?
jabroni-
i think what you speak to represents something very wrong with the auto industry. automakers won't embrace a new technology unless they see a hugely mass-produceable future. they have a low risk tolerance, too low in my opinion.
sometimes, i would hope, you would put out 10,000 cars, see what happens, and then react. how do you know if consumers never have a real choice?
the auto industry isn't very nimble, but i think in this 'at the speed of light', digital world in which we live, automakers have to become far more nimble. production can't be based on the ability to move millions of vehicles. production lines have to be more flexible.
anyway, the electric cars you refer, based on the technology you suggest, might be very cost-effective for consumers today with $4.00 gas becoming the norm.
sure, range might not be what consumers traditionally want, or maybe not the right size, etc., etc., but at $4.00, gas might change the pros and cons of consumers regarding vehicle range and things like that.
i don't agree with not buying any vehicle until plug-in hybrids are available, although I do believe that plug-in hybrids need to become available as soon as possible.
in terms of lower costs for electric vehicles....i think overall, that will be true. still, i know of people that have had to change some of the components in the steering column of the prius. since its electronically controlled, the replacement cost $3,000.
there will be costs to some early adopters, and electric cars are going to pose unforeseen costs and problems, that is a fact. of course, they are also going to solve many problems.
nonetheless, many americans can't afford a prius, let alone a plug-in prius. thus, i'd prefer a combination of very cheap 'conventional' hybrid cars and countless plug-in hybrid variants, such as dual mode plug-in hybrids, hybrid synergy drive plug-in hybrids, range extended electric vehicles, biofueled plug-in hybrids, etc.
most important, millions of hybrid cars will help scale down the battery costs of plug-in hybrid cars.
ultimately, i think the idea that plug-in hybrids are always the best solution isn't always correct, nor is it feasible in the short term, in my opinion.
dahcredyns,
Thanks for the thoughts. I do agree with you that volume and battery economies of scale TODAY are key, whatever the future of PHEV's and EV's.
I have read recently about the overall complexity of hybrids, and plugin hybrids will be even more complex, I imagine. So, just today I began to daydream about the long term beauty and simplicity of a 50 mile EV. Where once they seemed so foreign and impractical, today it seems just right.
But, you're right. Hybrids are the answer for most. And plugin hybrids will be awesome for whoever can afford them. But maybe for the lucky few of us that fit the usage scenario the Th!nk or some other EV will be just right!
Thanks for this great blog. It has been an eye opener since I found it 2 months ago.
thanks. its always nice to hear that someone finds this blog helpful.
ultimately, i'm for the electrification of the automobile, all stages and variants of that electrification. i just want to start moving towards electrification now and do it as quickly as possible.
i hope your EV wish soon comes true!
"GM still has yet to finalize battery technology for the Chevy Volt..."
What the [bleep] is wrong with these people?!?!? Can't they simply swallow their pride or big-headed egos and ask (aka pay) Tesla Motors for help?!?!?!
http://www.teslamotors.com/
You know what I think? I think these auto companies are not interested in making or pursuing the production of hybrid or 'plug-in' vehicles. It wouldn't be to Big Oil's best interest!
You're not going to tell me that oil companies are not paying off the CEO's of Big 3 tons of $$$$$ 'under the table' to continue to produce gas-guzzlers?!
I mean, don't you think that, like Bush, these CEO's (and any other Head Cheese) also have invested in oil stocks?!?!
I watched a TV program on hybrid vehicles and alternate fuels and one of the guys asked a question to (I believe) a Ford 'head cheese' about the excessiveness of building a 400HP vehicle, and she responded with, "It's supply and demand." and he remarked, "Demand from WHOM?!?! Not the regular Joes!?!?"
I mean, if The Big 3 simply stopped producing oversized, gas-guzzling vehicles, the public will have no choice but to purchase what's available in their lots!
(I know, I know, it's like telling the tobbaco companies NOT to make any more cigarettes).
Unfortunately, the way I see it The Big 3 will continue to produce gas guzzlers, and/or charge outrageous prices for their so-called hybrid vehicles.
It's gonna take a determined group of consumers, or a new auto company (like Tesla Motors) to begin production of 'electric only' vehicles, preferrably manufactured in the U.S., and begin to offer 'plug-in' vehicles at affordable prices for regular Joes (like me). Only then will GM suddenly discover a solution to their chargeable battery dilema.
Here's another idea: I heard or read somewhere, to "charge extra annual fees" or "include an extra gas-guzzler tax" to all of those consumers which choose to purchase and/or drive gas-guzzling vehicles.
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