FutureFolly
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
- Messages
- 141
The Spark EV's powertrain is quite simply next generation EV technology. It's the true stand out part of the Spark versus all the competition, even BMW's i3. The rest of the car was well done, but it's not impressive the way motor is.
So what area of EV technology should be the focus of GM's next major investment?
Alternative question, what order of priority should they be put in? My personal order would basically be as follows.
-9.6kw On-Board Charger: Getting the 80% recharge time under two hours would start to approach the convenience of DC charging. Being able to hook directly into a NEMA 14-50 like a Tesla would be a huge advantage. It would also be a great marketing tool and benefit the DC-FC system.
-DC-FC Network: Again, probably partnership dependent, but GM could provide the capital needed to create a network of DC-FCs like Tesla's Supercharger Network. Alternatively, GM could provide capital for Chevy dealers to add DC-FCs.
-Regenerative Brakes: Natural feeling regenerative brakes is one of the Holy Grails of EV
technology. Being the first to master it would be huge and possibly the perfect way to compliment to the excellent motor.
-Advanced Frame Materials: Similar to Ford's investments in aluminum with the F-150 and BMW's investment's in carbon-fiber, weight reducing materials will eventually find applications in most future vehicle frames, but getting out of the gate early would be a huge advantage.
-Lithium Batteries: Investing development money with a company like A123/B456 would bring down future battery costs. Tesla's business model basically mandates a massive increase in the global supply of lithium batteries.
The 9.6kw OBC or DC-FC network would probably be the most practical for GM in terms of ROI because the cost could be passed on to only the customers that wanted those features.
The brakes would produce the most noticeable change to the system but could easily cost over a hundred million dollar to develop. Since EVs are still small volume and not profitable all investments are going to be difficult to justify. Better brakes would be difficult to market as well.
GM is no doubt doing materials research like all automakers, but implementation in small cars will probably be a low priority for many years. Trucks and SUVs are already highly profitable and would see the biggest quantitative drop in weight.
It's tempting to think that better batteries is where every automaker should be putting their money, but realistically investing in a lithium battery producer would be a gamble. Tesla's Gigafactory mainly aimed at lowering prices through scale, not research. If GM wanted to do something similar with a partner they would need to offer a huge amount of capital. They would also need extensive plans for how to avoid flooding the market with batteries. If GM doubled down on EVs this would make more sense, but they would realistically have to be planning a full vehicle lineup of EVs.
So what area of EV technology should be the focus of GM's next major investment?
Alternative question, what order of priority should they be put in? My personal order would basically be as follows.
-9.6kw On-Board Charger: Getting the 80% recharge time under two hours would start to approach the convenience of DC charging. Being able to hook directly into a NEMA 14-50 like a Tesla would be a huge advantage. It would also be a great marketing tool and benefit the DC-FC system.
-DC-FC Network: Again, probably partnership dependent, but GM could provide the capital needed to create a network of DC-FCs like Tesla's Supercharger Network. Alternatively, GM could provide capital for Chevy dealers to add DC-FCs.
-Regenerative Brakes: Natural feeling regenerative brakes is one of the Holy Grails of EV
technology. Being the first to master it would be huge and possibly the perfect way to compliment to the excellent motor.
-Advanced Frame Materials: Similar to Ford's investments in aluminum with the F-150 and BMW's investment's in carbon-fiber, weight reducing materials will eventually find applications in most future vehicle frames, but getting out of the gate early would be a huge advantage.
-Lithium Batteries: Investing development money with a company like A123/B456 would bring down future battery costs. Tesla's business model basically mandates a massive increase in the global supply of lithium batteries.
The 9.6kw OBC or DC-FC network would probably be the most practical for GM in terms of ROI because the cost could be passed on to only the customers that wanted those features.
The brakes would produce the most noticeable change to the system but could easily cost over a hundred million dollar to develop. Since EVs are still small volume and not profitable all investments are going to be difficult to justify. Better brakes would be difficult to market as well.
GM is no doubt doing materials research like all automakers, but implementation in small cars will probably be a low priority for many years. Trucks and SUVs are already highly profitable and would see the biggest quantitative drop in weight.
It's tempting to think that better batteries is where every automaker should be putting their money, but realistically investing in a lithium battery producer would be a gamble. Tesla's Gigafactory mainly aimed at lowering prices through scale, not research. If GM wanted to do something similar with a partner they would need to offer a huge amount of capital. They would also need extensive plans for how to avoid flooding the market with batteries. If GM doubled down on EVs this would make more sense, but they would realistically have to be planning a full vehicle lineup of EVs.