Real cost figures for a real electric car : Saibao EV

[HyperMiler]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/bu...tml?ref=global

When Tianjin-Qingyuan puts its entirely battery-powered Saibao midsize sedan on sale this autumn, the body will come from a sedan that normally sells for $14,600 when equipped with a gasoline engine. But the engine and gas tank will be replaced with a $14,000 battery pack and electric motor, said Wu Zhixin, the company’s general manager.

That means the retail price will nearly double, to almost $30,000. Even if the government awards the maximum subsidy of $8,800 to buyers, that is a hefty premium.

Large-scale production could drive down the cost of the battery pack and electric motor by 30 or 40 percent, still leaving electric cars more expensive than gasoline-powered ones, Mr. Wu said.

SaoBao EV is a sister car of Miles XS500, an electric car built on SaoBao sedan with an 25 kwh battery pack.

So we know the cost of 25 kwh battery + electrical drive system is $14,000 in China, assuming a 5 year life(Chinese cars are not engineered to last more than 7 years). See, these things cost a lot even in China.

[Mohsen]

The $11K price for 25 KWh is about right ($450/KWh).

The issue is why is SaoBao building an EV that travels 250 km, when nobody in China travels between cities? 100 km would be more than enough for commuting, and then a range extender option.

At 10 KWh, the price of battery and drive will be down to $7,000 which will be more than compensated by the subsidy and elimination of transmission and exhaust system and radiator/pump/fan.

So what is the issue?

[HyperMiler]

The $11K price for 25 KWh is about right ($450/KWh).

The issue is why is SaoBao building an EV that travels 250 km, when nobody in China travels between cities?

Miles Electric is engineering this car for distribution in the US as Miles XS500. SaiBao, the company that provides its own chassis design as bases of XS500 and assembly service to Miles, gets XS500 resell rights in China as SaiBao EV.

But this car is indeed mostly assembled from Chinese-sourced parts and you have some hard figure; $10,000 for an EV powertrain with 25 kwh battery pack in volume production.