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Thread: Mirage PHEV/Electric?

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by highwire View Post
    Thoughts?
    Using the same rationale you could say that engines should be standardized. I don't think batteries can be a lot cheaper by standardization, at the moment, and maybe it's too early for standardization, because there's still a lot of improvement in the product.

    AFAIK Tesla produces the biggest number of batteries, and so their batteries should take most benefit from the production scale. Yet a powerwall, which I believe is made from disapproved car batteries, cost $7000 for 13.5kWh. An I-miev has a 16kWh battery, and so should cost $8300 when it was made from disapproved Tesla batteries. OK, that's less than $10k, but not much.

    On the other hand, Sono motors doesn't build their own batteries, but buys them from a specialized manufacturer. They expect a 35kWh battery for their Sono Sion will cost €9500 ($10700) in 2022. So at this rate a new I-miev battery would cost $5000. That's better. But it's not 2022 yet.


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  3. #12
    Senior Member highwire's Avatar
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    Thank you for the analysis Space Wolf! I know very little about the supply chain of batteries nor the auto technologies. I am impressed that you said that engines by the same rationale could be standardized, and believe that could have very different ramifications, but my first thought was negative, since I thought it might discourage competition and the uniqueness associated with makes and models. At the same time, there are many parts already shared across makes even if it is not as large as a major component.

    On the positive side, I do think there are many DIY hobbyists out there that would benefit from a standard engine, like the kit market that lets you build. That said, there might not be much interest in the safety of scaling that up, since that would require more crash testing. A generic or "orphan status" engine, however, would allow for some very interesting generic automakers to release potentially less costly components with perhaps all but the paint and body to market their "uniqueness."

  4. #13
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    It's my understanding that the i-MiEV battery pack had a design shortcoming that if a single cell fails it seriously reduces the overall capacity of the pack. A handful of owners took it upon themselves to repair their pack, a pack from salvage, or used the two to make one good pack.

    Myimievforum.com: Batteries and Battery Management

    There's plenty of threads on the subject. This one covers a lot of ground:

    Battery Replacement - Lessons Learned

    I looked into this when considering a used i-MiEV a year or so ago. It was advertised locally with a very attractive price (I recall it was around $4,000) and wanted to make sure I wasn't buying a money pit so I started reading what I could. It was discouraging. The other i-MiEV that I test drove reminded me of my Mirage test drive - I couldn't find anything wrong with the car.

    I think warranty repairs would seriously hurt Mitsubishi Motors. Too bad - I hope Mitsubishi and others figure this out because in many ways an electric car would suit me just fine.



    Quote Originally Posted by Space Wolf View Post
    Using the same rationale you could say that engines should be standardized.
    It's already been done. Here's one example:
    Wikipedia: Global Engine Alliance
    Quote Originally Posted by Wikipedia: Global Engine Alliance
    Global Engine Alliance LLC, began as a joint venture of Chrysler, Mitsubishi Motors, and Hyundai Motor Company for developing a line of shared engines.

    In September 2009, Chrysler purchased Mitsubishi and Hyundai's shares, after 5 years of allied research and development, making its Dundee, Michigan plant a wholly owned subsidiary of what was then Chrysler Group LLC.
    See also:
    Mitsubishi 4B1 engine
    Mitsubishi 4A9 engine
    Mitsubishi 3A9 engine


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