Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Infiniti Boss De Nysschen: EVs 'absolutely' coming, just not right away

Despite being closely connected to the electric vehicle pioneers at Nissan, Infiniti is taking the slow road to bringing an EV to market. Last month, the first Infiniti EV – to be based on the LE concept from the 2012 New York Auto Show – was delayed to add better tech. Infiniti president Johan De Nysschen wants to make it perfectly clear that this delay is both intentional and in no way a cancellation.

Speaking with AutoblogGreen at a media event in Newport Beach, California this week, de Nysschen was blunt: "First and foremost, I simply must state that there absolutely will be EVs in Infiniti's future." The first Infiniti EV was delayed, in part, to give the brand room to grow in all directions. De Nysschen, who took over Infiniti in June of 2012, told us:

We have a massive journey ahead of us. We have to diversify our product portfolio, we have to enter a bunch of new market segments, we have to enter new geographies, we have to invest in new production capacity. And all of these things together amount to a massive investment in the brand. When it comes to EVs, that is another area that would require very huge investments and it is simply, for us, balancing the investment amounts with the short-, medium- and long-term profitability requirements and the role that all these various cars will play as we shape and reposition the brand.

As Infiniti gets ready to become a global player, one thing company representatives made clear is that the big goal, a plug-in car, is not at the top of the "To do" list. It's on there, sure, but not what's driving the company in 2013. Plus, as de Nysschen said, when the Infiniti EV arrives, it must have the latest and greatest tech

Specifically, he said:

People speak of a delay to our EV plans, primarily this has been driven by the reality that we know that there is work being done on the evolution – it's not a breakthrough, it's an evolution – of battery technology which will yield higher performance and new technology will also bring cost advantages. It stands to reason to me that if we are planning a new Infiniti EV, that we should hold on until we can incorporate those improvements into the new product. It would make little sense to start production of the car just as these new technologies emerge.

Of course, technology will always be advancing, so an argument that says you need to have the absolute best tech in a new car effectively means that the vehicle will never arrive. De Nysschen said that's not the goal here. "I don't think that we've called for a delay for the car for five years, it is a relatively short delay and we will make a decision on the next step on this car in the next 12 months," he said. What that decision will be is hinted at by one country: China.

De Nysschen said Infiniti knows that hybrids are important in the American market and diesels in Europe. "When we cast our eye now to China, this is where we see the likelihood that EVs will play a role. Since we intend to be a player there, that is yet another reason that it is logical that EVs will be a part of our line up in the future." And it's the future that de Nysschen is getting ready for. He sees the EV market evolving this way:

I think that the EV evolution will probably take place from two opposite poles. On the one end, you will find vehicles that use EV technology at a lower level of technology and a lower performance parameters, but a lower price point. These vehicles will primarily be for commuting. The opposite pole is where you will find the real technological advancements. People are going to embrace the high cost of these innovative new technologies and they are going to offset these high costs and recoup it by wrapping it in a very emotional body, which has intangible value, which customers are willing to pay for. Over time, we are talking 20-25 years, as you progress and you get the cost of the technologies down and you can begin to transfer them to the lower end, you get the convergence. If anybody thinks that EVs are going to dominate the market within the next three years, that's wrong. It will take many years before they take a leading role and replace the internal combustion engine as the primary source of power.

Still, we were curious: will we see the first production Infiniti electric vehicle in the next three years? "I think that would be a logical time frame," he replied.

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/08/22...-just-not-now/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

All sorts of EV news of late. Probably some good investment opportunities

GS69

http://www.autonews.com/article/2017...harge-into-evs

Asia's luxury brands charge into EVs

January 15, 2017 @ 12:01 am
Hans Greimel


David Undercoffler



Laurence Iliff
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In 2012, Infiniti unveiled the LE Concept, shown, making it among the first of the Asian luxury brands to float an EV concept car.
Send us a LetterHave an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

DETROIT -- German automakers made waves at last fall's Paris auto show with plans to chase Tesla with their own electric luxury cars. Now, the Asian brands are considering the move.

Lexus, Genesis, Acura and Infiniti say they are weighing electric vehicle offerings -- in some cases to meet emissions rules, in others because zippy, futuristic EV cachet enhances their luxury buzz.

None of the premium brands displayed an EV or concept at the Detroit auto show last week, but executives on hand said their companies were in varying stages of putting one on the road.

South Korean luxury upstart Genesis is the most aggressive. The Hyundai spinoff brand aims to roll out as many as three EV models by 2025, with the 1st arriving around 2020.

Additional EV nameplates will arrive at around 3-year intervals, said Lee Ki-sang, senior vice president at Hyundai Motor Group's Eco Technology Center. The Genesis entries will be dedicated stand-alone EVs on a new electric-only platform being developed, he said.

"In Genesis, we absolutely need that kind of luxury electric vehicle," Lee said.

The goal, he said, is a flagship Genesis EV that can outperform the best from Tesla and others.

One motivation is the need for Genesis to meet increasingly stringent emissions rules. While Genesis can average its fuel economy figures with Hyundai for fleet figures in some markets, such as the United States, the brand needs to stand on its own in other markets, Lee said.


Manfred Fitzgerald, Genesis"Swift adoption'

Then there is the image issue. Upscale customers increasingly see the eco-friendly, sporty performance of electric drivetrains as part and parcel of premium prestige. Tesla's luxury play trades largely on its exhilarating electric drive, complete with its ultrafast Ludicrous mode.

"Anybody who has driven an electrified vehicle knows that it has definitely some excitement in it," global Genesis boss Manfred Fitzgerald said. He acknowledged lingering hurdles of range and cost but added, "Once those are taken away, I think you will see a swift adoption."

Mercedes-Benz is among the luxury brands leading that swift adoption. At the Paris show in September, the German marque said it would launch 10 new EVs by 2025 under an EQ subbrand in a bid to become the global leader in EV technology. Other top-tier European brands boarding the EV train include Audi, Porsche and BMW. Aston Martin plans to launch an all-electric RapidE sports car, and Jaguar aims to start selling an EV crossover sometime next year.

Asian luxury brands have been slow to follow, but EVs are finally on their radar.

Infiniti was among the first to float an EV concept car, in 2012, leveraging the electric drivetrain system developed for the Nissan Leaf EV by parent company Nissan Motor Co. But Infiniti put those EV ambitions on hold just a year later to focus on rebuilding its core models.

"Innovative and unique'

Last month, however, Infiniti President Roland Krueger said his company was once again considering "very concrete" concepts for an EV, though he declined to give details.

Acura already has the top of its range electrified, with a hybrid NSX sports car and a hybrid option for its RLX flagship sedan. John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said Acura also is looking at pure EVs "from an overall brand standpoint."

Acura General Manager Jon Ikeda said there are no serious plans at the moment. But he said EVs are intriguing for Acura because "anything innovative and unique is what we're looking for."

Lexus' product epiphany came during the EV-obsessed Paris show, said Jeff Bracken, general manager of Lexus International.

"Subsequent to that show," he said, "we began conversations with our product planners."

The shift is especially remarkable for a unit of Toyota Motor Corp., a longtime EV skeptic. But attitudes are changing at the parent company, too.

Last month, Toyota formed a special division to develop the company's next-generation of electric cars. Toyota has said the upcoming EVs initially will target markets where regulations require them, such as China.

Toyota pulled the plug on its EV program in 2014, when it killed the eQ minicar and said it would stop building an electric version of its RAV4 crossover with Tesla.

Bracken said nothing was decided at Lexus but added: "I think we'd have our head buried in the sand if we didn't thoroughly study all electric."

mmarshall

IMO too risky right now for investment. I'd wait and at least see what is going to happen if Trump gets the tariffs he wants, and where those EVs are going to be built. Their importation (and company profits) could be affected by those tariffs.

davyjordi

from a US perspective, sure, but from a global perspective? the EU is a formidable economic force.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Thanks for a response 3 years later

mmarshall

OK....sorry, I though you were referring to the current article and/or about future EV-vehicle investments. You're right...the post was several years old. I don't normally wait that long to respond LOL.

RNM GS3

10 years ago all the rage was hybrids and that never took off except for Prius which is not even selling that good.

Now all the rage is EVs, in 10 years it will be something else.
The only company selling EVs with a strong demand is Tesla and they are losing $$$$$. They sell more for the brand image and that it conveys being progressive and futuristic, more so then people's need for EVs.

Politicians are pushing this agenda down people's throats for no reason.
Who is going to pay for the worldwide infrastructure to power these EVs when there are millions of them on the road?
How are they gonna make up for the gas tax they collect now?

mmarshall

The reason Priuses aren't selling that well isn't because they are hybrids, but because of relatively cheap gas, and the SUV market drawing out regular passenger cars in general.

Again, Tesla isn't losing money because of the fact that they are selling electric cars. They simply have a very inefficient system of company-owned retail sales-outlets that is adding to the expenses...those dealer-owned shops are very expensive to run. Most other automakers, of course, depend on independently-owned dealer-franchises, where the costs are borne by the dealership's owner, who is usually an independent businessperson.

I disagree. While I am generally on the conservative side politically, and am not convinced that most of climate change is human-caused, or that the world is going to run out of crude oil anytime soon, in fact, there are a number of advantages and good points to the full-electric car, including a much simpler drivetrain, instant torque at low RPM from the electric motor (theoretically, maximum torque on an electric motor is at 0 RPM), much less service and maintenance required, a butter-smooth quiet drivetrain, and zero emissions from the vehicle itself (though the cleric power-plant may be another matter). Some places also give them tax-credits and HOV priviledges. Their only real weaknesses, right now, are battery-range and (outside California) a lack of high-voltage plug-in infrastructure for recharging, though progress is being made in both.

dseag2

Well, since it has been 3 years since the original article we know De Nysshen's comment about "just not right away" was spot on!