High costs of clean cars forcing auto partnerships
Automakers are still digging out of the worst downturn in decades, and they're already coming up against another, perhaps greater, challenge: the start of the biggest transition in engine technology in nearly a century.
Making the kind of ultra-clean, high-tech cars that automakers will have to sell to meet strict emission rules coming into force in the United States and other regions will be very expensive. Most carmakers won't be able to cover the costs by themselves -- and that will spur many to seek new partnerships, say industry executives and experts.
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Source: High costs of clean cars forcing auto partnerships
Making the kind of ultra-clean, high-tech cars that automakers will have to sell to meet strict emission rules coming into force in the United States and other regions will be very expensive. Most carmakers won't be able to cover the costs by themselves -- and that will spur many to seek new partnerships, say industry executives and experts.
Quote from the article:
| Consider: • A hydrogen-powered fuel cell SUV costs four times as much to build as a conventional SUV. • A transmission for a hybrid SUV costs three times more than a transmission for a regular SUV. • Batteries large enough to power cars without assistance from a gas engine cost from about $12,000 to as much as $50,000 for a performance car. • A hydrogen station costs upwards of $2 million to build. An added burden for automakers is that they can't concentrate on a single technology because it might fall by the wayside. "We can't say what the prevailing technology will be," said Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault SA and its partner Nissan Motor Co. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is betting heavily on battery-powered electric cars, but many experts question whether batteries can ever provide the range and reliability that drivers expect. Plug-in hybrids, with motors to charge the batteries, allay drivers' "range anxiety," but they're heavy and expensive to build. A few automakers are moving forward with fuel cell cars and plan to market them by 2015. "Every car manufacturer has to develop very different technologies," Ghosn said during a stop in Detroit last month. "No one with volumes under 8 or 9 million vehicles (a year) can afford to develop them (all)," and that will drive a new round of consolidation. It may be starting. In a number of recent tie-ups, automakers are seeking partners to share expertise and pool the costs of developing new technologies. Renault-Nissan and Germany's Daimler AG announced a partnership in April to share some conventional engines and platforms, and to jointly develop batteries and technologies for all-electric vehicles. Daimler also announced plans to produce an electric car for the Chinese market with BYD Auto Inc., a Chinese carmaker with advanced-battery expertise. Toyota Motor Corp. teamed up with Silicon Valley startup Tesla Motors Inc. to develop an electric car. Toyota also is talking to Daimler about working together on fuel cell cars, though neither company will comment publicly. |
Source: High costs of clean cars forcing auto partnerships
