Israel Corp to invest $100m in new electric car
Israel Corp plans to invest $100m in a new electric car. They will own 33 percent of the venture, which will have a total initial investment of $200m. The face on this deal is Shai Agassi, blogger, who also
- "You have to know one thing. The total cost of ownership of an electric vehicle crossed under the total cost of ownership for a fuel-based car a year ago. It's really hard to notice because most people do not see total cost of ownership. But once that has happened, it's just a question of amortizations and monetization ways. To create a financial model that actually works."
- "Our goal is to get to 100,000 cars on the road in 2010."
Update: Shai no longer works at SAP.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
eli 4:33PM (5/12/2008)
Until the Electric Car
HERE ARE WAYS THAT EVERYONE CAN INCREASE THEIR GAS MILEAGE AT NO COST AND NO PAIN AT ALL.
FOR BETTER MILEAGE AND LESS POLUTION:
1. All gas stations should give FREE AIR PRESSURE FOR TIRES, BY LAW. Car drivers shouldn’t have to pay to use the air pressure pump. Many drivers pass it by because some gas stations charge for air pressure.
2. Air pressure in tires should be set at the MAXIMUM PRESSURE RECOMMENDED by tire manufacturers or even one or two more psi.
3. Fines for ADULTERATING GAS at gas stations should be SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED, especially for gas station owners who purposely mix additives in the gas (water, etc.) that produce less mpg then the real thing.
4. All cities and communities should RE-SET THEIR STOP LIGHTS FOR MINIMIZING RED LIGHT STOPPING, right now it’s only half-hearted. It’s the stop-start that wastes the most gas.
5. Gas tank sealing – Manufacturers of gas tank caps must take special care to manufacture them so as to minimize gas loss through evaporation (TIGHTER CLEARANCES, CLOSER FIT).
6. People should be taught to coast to red lights wherever possible, instead of FOOT-ON-GAS to a stop light.
By Eli S. Pine, Engineer, and Math professor (ret.), author of “HOW TO ENJOY CALCULUS”
epine6@comcast.net
P.S. There’s a word that President Bush can never say in public. That word is “PRIUS”.
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Phil L. 3:39PM (8/27/2007)
Actually, Agassi resigned from SAP earlier this year.
He could be an interesting player in the future: A motivated person who wants to make a different in alternative energy and climate change. Plus he has access to the people and funding to tackle big efforts.
I'm very curious to see how he proceeds...
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Chris 4:15PM (8/27/2007)
Anybody have any TCO data to backup his claim? I wonder how it compares for different countries around the world with different rates for fuel as well as labor/maintenance.
If the lines have truly crossed then I agree with his assertions. Monetizing a new model could prove difficult. Consumers tend to like low upfront costs since it is the big one staring them in the face. Monthly or yearly costs seem to get processed by the brain differently, since they a broken up into smaller amounts. For that reason it will be hard to convince people to spend a great deal more upfront on an electric vs. a cheap gas car.
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rgseidl 4:28PM (8/27/2007)
Vehicle TCO is notoriously hard to pin down because it depends on a large number of assumptions: interest rates, inflation rates, resale value (fashions change), future fuel prices, future externalities (tax rates/breaks, regulations), prospective sales volumes over many years etc.
It's also difficult to compare across technologies, because an ICE-powered car delivers different performance characteristics than a BEV: acceleration, range, noise, safety, longevity, emissions, carbon footprint - all substantially different between the two. It's a fair bet that consumers will prefer BEVs to ICEVs as second cars used primarily for commuting and errands. That may not the case for a family's primary vehicle.
Finally, a BEV will require a bigger outlay up front or, an inexpensive lease/loan in order to satisfy Agassi's claim of comparable TCO. With US house prices now expected to hold steady or even decline a few percent through 2010, consumers will no longer want/be able to take out second morgages to fund big-ticket investments. High interest rates on consumer loans will put a serious dent in the prospects for the emerging BEV market in the US.
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Kardax 4:42PM (8/27/2007)
Going from idea to 100,000 cars in 2.5 years? I don't care how much money he controls, it ain't happening :)
It doesn't sound like he has any interest in investing or partnering with someone like Tesla Motors, which is fine I guess; competition is good after all. But having to start from scratch is going to be expensive and time-consuming.
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Lascelles 4:44PM (8/27/2007)
Phil, thanks. Changed. It was a typo.
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Dave 5:11PM (8/27/2007)
Kardax,
That was my first thought. Why not give Tesla, Phoenix, or even Miles a call to see if a deal couldn't be reached? Batteries, as of now, always need funding...
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ug 7:00PM (8/27/2007)
It can happen if they use a preexisting car design (like the Javlon project). Tesla had a hard time making their car because of the battery management system. Anyone starting today will use LiFePo batteries and completely avoid an exotic BMS.
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TX CHL Instructor 8:10PM (8/27/2007)
I don't believe the TCO claims. For the purchase price of an EV with reasonable range & power, I can put 100,000 miles on each of two mid-size cars, all fuel and maintenance included.
I still hope for an EV that *does* have a TCO less than a comparable ICE vehicle, which I expect to see in five or six years.
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Chris M 4:48AM (8/28/2007)
One problem is that we may end up with too many competing plug-in, some of them will fail and the survivors may suffer from the competition.
At one time there were over 100 US auto makers, but most went out of business or were bought out, leaving only 3. I predict that a similar thinning out will occur in the EV market.
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robert 9:06AM (8/29/2007)
Does nobody realize the sea changed?
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mike 7:07PM (1/18/2008)
I think the Smart Electric would qualify today. But, it's just now being tested in Britain.
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