Bluestar in light of Daimler partnership

TEG · 05-19-2009, 11:03 PM

Mercedes B-Class would make a good starting point for Tesla "Blue Star"...

dpeilow · 05-20-2009, 07:37 AM

Yeah, I said something similar back in January.

Kevin Harney · 05-20-2009, 07:45 AM

A good starting point yes. But 45K-55K is not a Bluestar car. Needs to be close to half that $.

AnOutsider · 05-20-2009, 07:59 AM

I think he just means the chassis, size and such

Kevin Harney · 05-20-2009, 08:01 AM

Yes. I said a good starting point. Agreed.

DDB · 05-20-2009, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Harney

A good starting point yes. But 45K-55K is not a Bluestar car. Needs to be close to half that $.

Good point--but that's where Tesla made it work. They developed their vehicle on a shoestring budget. Give them another shot with blue star and then let Damler refine it along with economy of scale and now we're talking. Bluestar could be advanced quickly. Hell, they could even take the shell of the Model S and bare bones it for all I care. That would be a thought as well. Why not just take their offerings and figure out how to do them cheaper and better for the time being.

WarpedOne · 05-20-2009, 10:18 AM

As long as decent battery pack costs 20.000 USD forget about BlueStar.
30.000 USD BlueStar would be comparable to 10.000 USD cars of today.

Garbage.

stopcrazypp · 05-20-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarpedOne

As long as decent battery pack costs 20.000 USD forget about BlueStar.
30.000 USD BlueStar would be comparable to 10.000 USD cars of today.

Garbage.

They'll have to cut battery price down closer to $10k by taking out a lot of range and capacity for the Bluestar. If the $30-36k price is true for the 53kWh pack, this will be a 18-15kWh battery pack (oh and this is assuming battery prices aren't cheaper by the time they decide to make the Bluestar). This is inline with most of the cheaper EVs we are seeing.
iMIEV for example is 16kWh and it is like a $10k car, so I see your point.
It appears the Nissan EV & the Ford Focus EV will be in this range too; the Volt is also 16kWh but it's a little different. So there is a possibility of geting a roughly $20k car for $30k.

WarpedOne · 05-20-2009, 12:47 PM

The key question to BlueStar is why do LiIon batteries cost as much as they do?
I'm not an expert but it looks to me like it is the current manufacturing techniques.

Raw materials are very small part of the price. There just ain't enough production capacity to satisfy the market. Daimler's move to build their own batteries might not be such a bad idea after all any that might be the key to cheaper quality EVs of the future.

stopcrazypp · 05-20-2009, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarpedOne

The key question to BlueStar is why do LiIon batteries cost as much as they do?
I'm not an expert but it looks to me like it is the current manufacturing techniques.

Raw materials are very small part of the price. There just ain't enough production capacity to satisfy the market. Daimler's move to build their own batteries might not be such a bad idea after all any that might be the key to cheaper quality EVs of the future.

I would say that's a accurate accessment. Every major automaker pursuing an EV/plug-in has a locked in a battery plant already, this includes Daimler, Nissan, Mitsubishi, GM. Toyota & Honda has battery plants locked in too, but they are for hybrids.

Mass manufacturing battery packs with cells optimized for automotive purposes (meets all life cycle, safety requirements and also doesn't waste packaging from being non-optimal) will drive down battery cost regardless of chemistry improvements.