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Nissan Won't Build Its Own Electric Car Batteries Anymore (cnet.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Balancing every single task by oneself, instead of getting some help, can break a person down in record time. That's likely why Nissan has decided to step away from manufacturing batteries for its electric vehicles. Nissan announced on Tuesday that it would sell its battery-manufacturing subsidiary, Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC), to the Chinese investment firm GSR Capital. "This is a win-win for AESC and Nissan. It enables AESC to utilize GSR's wide networks and proactive investment to expand its customer base and further increase its competitiveness," said Hiroto Saikawa, president and CEO of Nissan, in a statement. "In turn, this will further enhance Nissan's EV competitiveness. AESC will remain a very important partner for Nissan as we deepen our focus on designing and producing market-leading electric vehicles."
To some degree, it is also a HUGE risk that Chinese government sponsored industry will undercut prices and take the entire market like they have with steel, solar panels, etc...
The increased trade between Japan and China is a direct result of the abandonment of the TPP and foreshadows the unabated growth of China as America decides to withdraw from trade deals and pick at bellybutton lint instead of competing and controlling world markets.
There are pros and cons to outsourcing. But if there's one thing that's asymptotic to pure truth, it's never ever outsource your core competency.
In the case of EVs, your core competencies are Battery Design and EV Drivetrain.
Outsourcing half your core competency right as the market starts to pick up and get competitive sure seems like surefire way to be left behind.
Remember the days when monocultures and monopolies were frowned on around here. Yeah, those were good times. Now we have people who can't scream "TESLA!!!!!1111!!!!" loud enough.
Because Tesla understands that battery costs are the key to competitive electric cars. The only way to control that is to build them, not outsource manufacturing to a third party hungry for extra margins. Auto companies still manufacture their own engines for this very reason.
Annual US car production is under 4 million units. Tesla Model 3 production is scheduled to hit 500k next year. That's what people are investing in Tesla for. Because this is a big, big thing.
And that's just one year. So far Tesla has gotten a nearly 2 year waiting list without any advertising at all, without anyone being able to test drive it (or even know all the specs for most of that time), and with Tesla trying to anti-sell it to try to drive buyers to S and X instead (which they can actually get cash from today, rather than two years in the future). With advertising Tesla expects to raise the 500k to 700k (this will involve moving S and X motor production to gigafactory to free up space at Fremont). A couple years from now they'll also be introducing the Model Y crossover (crossovers being more popular than sedans). They also have a major electric semi truck project in progress, and are developing the Supercharger V3 to support it. After the Y and semi they're discussed a new Roadster, a pickup, and a lower-cost sedan.
Nobody is putting money into Tesla because of their current sales. They're putting money into Tesla because of how much pent-up demand there is for its vehicles - whether you happen to be part of that demand or not. Said investment money is to let them tool to convert demand into sales and thus profits. Talking about figures related to Tesla's current market share are just silly when they're in the middle of building a plant to increase the US's total car production by 28%.
He's really very... gentle... and fuzzy. We're becoming fast friends.
Let me get this straight. When you need to stop for gas - say, when you realize "Oh, I need to stop for gas on the way home", you get home only two minutes (20 / 2) later than you otherwise would? Yeah, sure.
EV drivers in their normal everyday lives never stop and think "Oh, I need to stop for gas on the way home" because they start every day with a full tank. The time to connect your vehicle at home is basically insignificant (not that you have to charge every day if for some reason you don't want to).
I don't even know what your "4x to 5x" is supposed to mean. A Model 3 has a range from 220 to 310 miles, depending on which variant one gets. Do you think your average car has a range of 880 to 1550 miles? Heck, the only reason that gasoline vehicles have the range they do is to avoid the inconvenience of having to randomly detour from your everyday life to go to a dirty gas station and breathe carcinogenic (literally) fumes while standing outside fueling your vehicle, regardless of the weather. There's no point to 400+ miles range otherwise; it's not safe to drive for such long periods on the highway without stopping, your attention to the road wanes.
He's really very... gentle... and fuzzy. We're becoming fast friends.