PEV pipeline: more speculation on the Chevrolet “Sonic EV”
14 October 2014
Green Car Reports adds some additional detail to the shadowy picture of the upcoming GM battery electric vehicle presumed to be based on the Sonic. (Earlier post.)
Mark Reuss, GM’s executive vice president of global product development, has confirmed that GM will add a new electric vehicle to the lineup; speculation over the past months has locked in on a new EV that would be based on the Sonic with a range of about 200 miles, and a launch date in 2017.
Green Car Reports adds:
It will be based on the next-gen Sonic platform (based on the next-generation “Gamma” platform G2SC), and replace the Spark EV.
The battery cells will be provided by LG Chem.
A version of the Sonic EV will be badged as a new Opel Corsa EV.
Perhaps a bit small to be the ideal body for the US?
Posted by: Davemart | 14 October 2014 at 12:33 PM
Standby Tesla, GM is coming soon.
Posted by: SJC | 14 October 2014 at 02:17 PM
I have to admit, SJC, that I did laugh out loud when I read that. I sincerely hope GM comes out with a best of class BEV, both in looks, and performance. And a global 135kW charging network. And a non-adversarial sales channel. And a Consumer Reports 99% satisfaction rating, Car of the Year, etc etc.
I really do. It would be a real competition then.
Posted by: electric-car-insider.com | 14 October 2014 at 06:12 PM
I do not think that an Sonic based EV will compete with the Tesla Model S but it may help to push along EV market if they can keep the price reasonable. I also wish both GM and Tesla well in their EV endeavors and I would agree with Davemart that GM might do better by basing their new EV on a larger platform. However, I do wonder about the long term viability of Tesla. I know that this is heresy among some of the reader of Green Car Congress but currently Tesla's market cap (shares outstanding * share price) is about half that of GM which is not realistic and they are not currently making money so they are funding their continued development and production by selling stock. This is not unusual with startup companies but it can only gone on so long.
Posted by: sd | 15 October 2014 at 09:55 AM
Good point, sd.
BEV's power train and energy storage unit are so much more expensive than those of ICEV's that manufacturers can't make much profit out of selling BEV's. Each BEV additionally costs the gov. $7500 to $10000 to coax people into buying them.
An HEV and a PHEV may offer a chance at profit if the electric power train and battery are kept to minimum. The buyers will still have to pay a hefty price premium for those, though will be able to recoup those extra expense via savings in fuel and maintenance and service. They cost less for the gov. because the incentives for PHEV of under 15 kWh are less than for BEV's, and incentives for HEV's are zero.
Posted by: Roger Pham | 15 October 2014 at 06:31 PM
GM can mass produce at a lower price point than Tesla. If we are saying the Tesla 3 will be priced at $35,000, who would most of the buying public want to buy from? Would they buy from a company making cars for 70 years or someone who THINKS he knows how to mass produce 200,000 unit per year without problems.
GM sells more than 2 MILLION cars per year in the U.S. and even more in China. When Tesla can say that, then maybe they can compete with the major established car companies.
Posted by: SJC | 16 October 2014 at 11:48 AM