Hi Sid,
I'm glad you enjoyed my profile page...I started playing one day, and that was the result!
I was also surprised when I first found out the relative sizes of the North American and European bus markets. Having lived in Denmark for 6 years, I saw first hand that this was the case. It makes sense...population densities are much higher in Europe, making public transit much more viable. They also have good rail services, both urban and rural, which integrates with bus service. Their public transit system actually works...we did not own a car for the 6 years we were in Denmark. Over here, though, it is "the land of cars".
Regarding margins, obviously I'm not sure what they will be once Ballard starts selling. I do know that gross margins for high tech products are often 30% - 60%. For "commodity" type products the margins are small. Intel's CPU's, for example, are sold at pretty healthy margins I believe, even though the quantities they mass produce might make some people think they sell as a commodity. The leading edge can always command higher margins, as long as there is demand. If Ballard or ERC or anyone can sell FC systems based on a VALUE model, i.e. "Using our FC will save you XX dollars/month and will have paid for itself in YY months/years", they can keep margins high. Only when there is no significant room left for advancement will it become a true commodity (e.g. hammers). Then it becomes a contest of who can produce the most cheaply.
Ballard has great management, and I am betting that they will market/sell wisely.
Sorry, I don't know much detail about Ballard's station power, at least not yet, although they say it will be the first to generate real revenues for them, even before buses. I too would like to see some numbers. By the way, I'm happy to see ERC has had a nice move the last month or two - I am not a shareholder, but I know someone on the SI that is... ;-)
Regards,
Garth. |
