[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by genxer

Catching up a lot. Cost and risks.

Why on earth is there 4 transverse front motor platforms? It looks like a bad overspend. How can vehicles with cheap constants of, unibody, 4 decades w/ strut front suspensions and 2+ decades w/ rear PTO awd be a development burden?

Not sure what company you are referring to.

Originally Posted by genxer

Why would a fwd EV (new)newBlazer exist?. Are these not premium vehicles for the not super affluent? A Bev3 Ultium skeptic would question if it is investor spin for unavoidably different vehicles, or conversely too similar and costly for less pricey ('Nox & smaller) segments.

In many snowier regions, FWD is a better bad weather traction option than RWD. AWD is probably optimal, but not everyone wants to drop $2k extra because they live in a place where snow has a big impact on drivability. Personally, I have a FWD SRX because I don’t need AWD to navigate the snow. If SRX was a RWD vehicle (1st Gen was) I would have to have AWD. In fact, for a while we were focused on getting a Cadillac Lyriq, but the first full year is RWD only. Not for me driving year round in Detroit. We were going to wait for AWD until I landed on just getting the Blazer EV SS.

Originally Posted by genxer

Is cell R&D not factored in as an ongoing cost?

It is for the battery manufacturer. Sometimes the battery manufacturer is the vehicle OEM. GM/Ultium as an example. Most times they are different companies. Stellantis / Samsung SDI is an example. In such cases it’s part of the part purchase price for the vehicle manufacturer.

Originally Posted by genxer

The housing environment doesn't change quickly. Why would small-time landlords want to install chargers? Or anyone with mostly short drives? Bolt has a long amortization from a Mirage and, as linked, some do pay more for kWh than fuel.

A lot of moving parts to this one and a lot of approaches to solutions. Still too early to say who/what wins out. But to answer the direct question, Why would small-time landlords want to install chargers? here is a scenario that is being pursued. There is a company whose name escapes me at the moment that is working with landlords in several cities to install curbside charging in front of rental properties. Here’s how it works:

• Company does all the work to install the chargers. That includes getting permits, contracting the installation and connecting the property electrical system to the charger.
• The company sets up the payment system to collect from people who use the charger.
• The charger draws power from the rental property power line, primarily during off-peak times and stores the energy to and underground battery.
• Customers (could be the renter, could be a random EV driver that happens to park there), uses and pays for charging.
• The company receives the payment, pays the power company for the energy drawn (at low off-peak prices).
• The company splits the difference (profit) with the rental property owner.

Originally Posted by genxer

It is still a high inflation time. EVs are much more mineral dependent, and have yet to grab the big chunk of market share. Ford admitted the Mach-E profits were inflation squeezed already. Gov deficit spending could fan inflation, while incentives only assist the upper middle class. Incentives toward EV that is heralded as a market inevitability, Why?

EVs are more mineral dependent. No getting around that, it’s a simple fact. Managing it is the big deal. As far as EVs not yet grabbing the chunk of the market, it’s because they are not all available yet. Can’t sell what you can’t touch. Even most of the vehicles that are available now are only available in limited quantities or with limited trims and options until the production lines are in full swing. Watching GM commercials you would think that their lots are overflowing with EVs. Fact of the matter is the only GM EVs you can actually buy today are Bolt EV, Bolt EUV, Hummer EV, and Lyriq. Hummer and Lyriq are still baby-stepping their way through back orders. So is Ford Lightning. Mach E is pretty much up to full assembly line capacity and it outsells Mustang coupe every month. Not the same customer, but still very telling in terms of popularity of EV.

As far as the IRA incentives, they are not focused on upper middle class. They are focused on middle class and below. When we eventually get our Blazer EV SS we will probably not qualify for the incentive because our household income will exceed the IRA max for household income. Newsflash… We are not super-affluent. Probably on the lower end of upper middle class. The car will qualify for incentives but we won’t qualify because of income.

The main purpose of the incentives is to motivate manufacturers to make the cars and batteries in the US, or at least in North America and to shift the market dynamics of the minerals sourcing to include the US and/or free trade partners and push back on Chinese sourcing.

Question#1 is “Where is the vehicle made”?
Question#2 is “Where is the battery made”?.

If either of those answers is anywhere but North America (jobs), no soup for you. Vehicle doesn’t qualify. The next question is

Question#3 “What is the price of the vehicle?” If it’s a car more than $55,000 there’s no need to go any further. Doesn’t qualify. If it’s a truck or SUV over $80,000 there’s no need to go any further. Doesn’t qualify. This is to stop providing incentives for $100k Lucid Air, Tesla Plaid, and Hummer EV.

The next question is
Question#4 “What is your household income from the AGI line on your tax return? If it’s more than $150k for an individual, $225k for a head of household, or $300k for a family filing a joint return (solidly middle class, not upper middle) there is no need to go any further. The car may qualify, but you don’t.