Issue of EV World, out today, has interesting article from GM: evworld.com
In part (and notice the $12K bump in price for NiMH, may this tech RIP):
EV1 Status Check
Since making its super-efficient electric cars (EV1s have a drag co-efficient of 0.19 making it one of the
most aerodynamically efficient production vehicles ever made) available for lease in early December,
1996, the company has built over 600 of its first generation models. Stewart said that GM now has some
500 Generation II models built. These vehicles will begin being leased once their electronics are certified,
a process which has delayed the introduction of the 1999 models well into what would normally be
considered the 2000 year model year.
Despite this, Stewart stated that 70% of current EV1 owners have committed to continuing their leases
for another 36 month period. In what has to be one of the first programs of its kind, and certainly has to
presage a future trend in automotive ownership, GM has a plan in place to refurbish the majority of the
cars coming off their leases by upgrading their battery packs to more powerful and reliable Panasonic
advanced lead acid batteries and then returning them to their original owners, after a thorough
inspection.
The new Generation II vehicles will come in two versions, one with the advanced lead acid batteries
offering an estimated 30-50% greater range then the current battery pack. The second version will come
with NiMH batteries which will effectively double the range of the vehicle to between 140-200 miles
between charges. Recharge times remain approximately 6 hours depending on the depth of discharge.
There will be a price premium for the NiMH version, but Stewart said that final pricing hasn't yet been
set. However, EV World has been told that the sticker price on the NiMH-model will be about $12,000
more than the advanced lead acid version.
Wonderfully-Manical Loyalty
One of Stewart's earliest introductions to the world of EV ownership came recently at an EV1 owners
road rally in California.
"I got some first hand experience in what I would call a wonderfully-manical loyalty to the car. They are
absolutely in love with their vehicles and they are challenging the sales consultants on who knows more
about the vehicle..."
"What we've learned from that is the vehicles themselves have had some advantages that we knew
were pluses, but didn't know how strong they were. One was the styling. The other was the ride and
handling and performance of the car. They really do love the car for the car's sake, as well as for some
of the larger causes like zero emissions and helping the environment and just plain doing the right thing."
"We find that compared to what we were expecting, the owners are driving the cars more, more miles,
more trips, and have integrated it more into their lifestyle. So, it went from being a sort of novelty car for
them to their primary source of transportation for most of the time."
Stewart explained that in addition to the new battery choices, the Generation II models also boasts an
improved drive train that is one half the size, one-half the cost, and uses one-third fewer parts. GM has
made other refinements to the EV1, as well. These include improvements to the ride and handling and a
better air conditioning system, all without sacrificing performance.
"Really what this vehicle is, is a fighter plane without wings," Stewart observed. "You have to manage
the weight. You have to manage the energy consumption on everything. So the new propulsion system
that they've engineered for Generation II is a much more efficient system, uses less energy wasted, puts
more energy right to the wheels, and that is one significant contributor to the range improvements for the
car.
Preaching the EV1 Gospel
Stewart commented that while he expects many of the returning EV1s will have 30,000 miles on them,
which was the agreed upon mileage for the 36 month lease, he said he expected a number of them to
come back with even higher mileages, a few approaching 40,000 miles belonging to owners who he
characterized as evangelists for the EV1 and electric cars, in general.
Those same evangelists have also been equally critical in their appraisal of GM's efforts to market the
vehicle in California and Arizona. Stewart responded that, "If you go back three years with General
Motors being first, we had to sell the category of electric cars before we could introduce people to EV1,
itself. So a lot of the advertising had to sort of set that stage and as a result be introductory in nature.
When you're launching a new brand its not a ten day proposition, its more of a ten year proposition. It
does take some time to do that."
"We are looking at other areas on how to talk more specifically to the benefits of the car, and I also
know from past experience that owners are looking for that, especially owners of vehicles like this. They
are progressive enough where they want to see that what they have discovered is something that is
going to be communicated to other people. We have already made some adjustments in the advertising
to include third party endorsements from some real opinion leaders that are also EV1 lease customers;
and they're speaking in terms of what it does for them, what it does for the greater good and what it
does for their own ideals about what they think the auto industry should be."
Stewart said that these new advertising messages are now in print and will be aired regionally on
television in the near future. While GM will continue to market the vehicle primarily in California and
Arizona, he did say that the company is looking at some additional markets and is in talks with energy
providers like Georgia Power who is sub-leasing EV1s and Ford Rangers to its employees.
Assuaging Driver Fears
Tests conducted earlier this Spring by the Department of Energy demonstrated that the Generation II
EV1 with NiMH batteries was achieving ranges in excess of 200 miles. Will this kind of performance be
enough to alleviate driver's resistance to the range limitations of electric cars?
Stewart seems to think so. "We know that there's a threshold, whether its true or perceived, it doesn't
matter, it's real; and that's one hundred miles. People need confidence that it will go 100 miles and
beyond, and we know that with this new technology it's pretty well assured it will do that and give people
that level of confidence. So, we really don't have a definitive number that when this happens people will
think this way, but we have certainly sensed over a three year history that the 100 miles bogey is
important."
One surprising outcome of GM offering both a advanced lead-acid and NiMH battery version of the Gen
II appears to be that a lot of customers may opt for the lead-acid battery model. While it's clearly too
early to make a definitive statement as to which option is more likely to sell, Stewart did say that current
owners seem comfortable with the less expensive option.
"Many more customers than you might expect are very satisfied with the current range; and for many of
them the Generation One vehicle will be just fine. It's really to early to tell, though what kind of
breakdown we're going to have between today's battery technology and the nickel metal hydride. We're
just now calling current owners, surveying their needs and starting to match up what their intentions are.
I think that over the next two to three months we'll have a much better sense of that.
As for the delay in getting the new models into customer hands, Stewart quipped, "We'll sell now wine
before its time." He said that the cars won't be released until they go through a thorough engineering
validation process.
"We've talked to the owners regularly about this. We know that they're very anxious to get into their
new vehicles, but they're also very understandable (sic) of our situation to make sure that things are
exactly right before we offer them up for customer service." |
