VW CEO Warns of Higher Than Expected Electric Car Costs

[Adam Varga + 123]

Volkswagen Group warned that its ambitious plan to offer an electrified version of each model will cost more than it estimated, forcing the automaker to deepen an efficiency push to meet the spending demands.

VW had originally earmarked the shift to battery power to cost $23 billion. Now CEO Herbert Diess says this will not suffice, without providing a new figure. The company needs to reduce expenses more to be able to invest in future technology and weather crises, he said.

VW Group aims to launch 80 new EVs across its brands including Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Seat by 2025 and offer an electrified version of each of its 300 group models by 2030.

[BlackTortoise + 103]

Was it really necessary to set a goal to make an electric version of each model across all of their brands? Seems overly ambitious. It would be better and much cheaper to design a few flagship EV models. 

[Adam Varga + 123]

They never said electric, they said electrified. This includes things like hybrids or even mild hybrids which are essentially regular ICEVs with a 48V electrical system which allows them to have a more powerful starter motor to occasionally turn the engine off.

[Vlad Kovalenko + 115]

Daimler planed to release 10 electric vehicle "EQ" series from Mercedes-Benz by 2022, but the development cost is expected to exceed the budget  originally envisioned.

[Stormysaga + 62]

VW CEO says 5-6% of profitability would be enough to survive for them. I believe that translates to a need for cheaply manufactured EVs which VW is new to.  Tesla did the one thing no one dare do, invest in EVs and get the tech more efficient. Now they got a huge lead simply because they made several iterations of an Electric car and know how to optimize every single component of it.

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

3 hours ago, Stormysaga said:

VW CEO says 5-6% of profitability would be enough to survive for them. I believe that translates to a need for cheaply manufactured EVs which VW is new to.  Tesla did the one thing no one dare do, invest in EVs and get the tech more efficient. Now they got a huge lead simply because they made several iterations of an Electric car and know how to optimize every single component of it.

Maybe so, but Tesla as a corporation cannot exploit the technology they have developed because of the craziness of their mentally ill chief executive.  His personal craziness is pushing dozens of executives to quit, keeps chaos as the constant throughout the corporation, dramatically upsets rational manufacturing, discourages the employees, and led to the most colossal blunder in the history of advanced manufacturing:  building an entire plant totally dependent on technical skills out in the desert, where there are no, I repeat zero, workers with those skills.  Worse, you cannot import the workforce as there is nothing, zero, to support their families: no schools, no recreation, nothing for the wives to do except maybe get a job at the local sex bar., the Mustang Ranch. 

What's wrong with setting up your assembly operation in Ohio or Wisconsin?  Why the Nevada desert, for goodness gracious?  How crazy does it get?  

Answer:  no worries, you have Elon Musk at the helm, Elon conquers all, Elon surpasses every possible obstacle, it is All Elon, All the Time.  Except, Elon does not live in the real world like the rest of us. He is found in some hyper-tunnel, or out on a rocket, or reading a space comic-book. 

Tesla is headed for the bankruptcy courts and Elon is headed for a locked ward. 

[Arthur sammy Sam 0]

10 hours ago, Adam Varga said:

Volkswagen Group warned that its ambitious plan to offer an electrified version of each model will cost more than it estimated, forcing the automaker to deepen an efficiency push to meet the spending demands.

VW had originally earmarked the shift to battery power to cost $23 billion. Now CEO Herbert Diess says this will not suffice, without providing a new figure. The company needs to reduce expenses more to be able to invest in future technology and weather crises, he said.

VW Group aims to launch 80 new EVs across its brands including Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Seat by 2025 and offer an electrified version of each of its 300 group models by 2030.

 

[Kay Uwe Böhm 0]

No problem solved driving up full electric cars in principe nothing new.

Lithium reserves about 28 mio. t much too less for all in world much used for small batteries and rockets already. 

Energy for making Li batteries enough for driving 30 000km after environment effect depending on electricty source in BRD energy world master gas import and brown coal Nr. 6 import oil & coal no electricity from solar and wind in nights without wind and electricity only 1/6 of all used energy solar about 1/10 wind 1/6 of peak values in average of BRD.

Not solved also tank times if really all using full electric cars on high speed road fuel station.

Driving up fuel cell cars also not enough Pt platin or Pd paladium in the world but cars can drive same adapted engine with gas but going out any time again but never made from water H2 and air CO2 exotherm reaction to methane CNG based on nuclear power eternal 1 Cent-€/kWh zero risk with new HTR&turbine not to be turned off because hurricane, quake, tsunami, vulcano eruption & war with white diamond cubic boron nitride pebbles isotopes B-11 and N-15 latest special only about 1/100 absorption of C-12 allows using only ThO2 pebble runtime up to 30 years and end storage hard enough up to 2800°C unbunable insoluble open HTR only He out secure.

All aroznd about 1.6m walls coolung ribs steel low melting concrete double steel inside Li-7 cooled separating frim inner thermal and fan noved helium to turbines. Li-7 preheated also excellent  not boiling liquid without pressure coolant binding easy extractable tritium usable also as moderater like beryllium not radioactive less absoption boiling over 1340°C strong bubble slow down. Steel with tungsten etc. inside thinner graphite tungsten reflector and tubes with holes as He chimney and for inner stop rods all around turnable control rods in 1s with springs stopping if no electricity over melt, Hg swap and pressure switches or addable electronic.

Help publishing and stopp the expensive wasting payable limited fossil reserves sea water uranium and thorium enough.

New turbines efficiencynear 100% with CF compressor instead not needed much wasting nonsense condensor, cooling of all with backflow same preheating thermal isolated only electricity out and CO2 instead H2O.

Hybrid cars not bad using home load for short city drive ane saving brake energy usable also for 2+2 electric wheel drive possible also with Pb batteries already.