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eGolf nationwide rollout?

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  feels_road 
#1 ·
Any news on plans, rumors even, of VW expanding distribution of the eGolf?

Seems to me that its the best answer to diesel gate. They already have a car, they're already selling it in the US. But in woefully few states. AFAIK, here in NC, VW refuses to sell, lease and service an eGolf.
 
#2 ·
The thing is that manufacturers lose money on EVs. They need to sell them in specific states to meet fleet emissions rulings and the like.

It has been estimated that EVs would need to sell for about $10,000 more to even break even.

I'd wait another 5-10 years for battery technology to catch up.
 
#3 ·
Some manufacturers lose money selling EVs. Those that make "compliance" vehicles that are sold in minimal quantities to get ZEV credits in CARB states.

But there are EVs sold nationwide. These manufacturers will sell as many as they can. Its debatable how profitable. Nissan is the biggest EV proponent claiming they're profitable. They sell the LEAF worldwide, not just for compliance, in as large a volume as they can muster.

Tesla despite costing 3-4x as much they're selling 3x as many cars... at a gross margin that the industry is envious of. Are they profitable as a company? No. Because they're investing greatly in new products and facilities.

BMW sells the i3 nationwide and they claim profitably.

GM usually claims to lose money on the nationally available Volt, but the new 2016/2017 Volt they claim will be profitable.

So... VW is a big enough company, in deep enough trouble that they need to join the game and figure out how to make money at EVs to get in and stay in the business. Otherwise they may as well give up and close up shop. They've spent an insane amount of money working on clean diesel and apparently they gave up and had to cheat. If they had routed that money to developing EVs they would be closer to profitable and have a compelling competitive vehicle like the newly announce Chevy Bolt. The Bolt is the first revealed EV that has range over 200 miles for anywhere near $30,000. That is an amazing accomplishment. Not quite sure how GM is doing it, but kudos to them.
 
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