After Cornering Tesla, BMW Is Going For The Kill

Model 3 should come at a much higher price tag than the Bolt, delivering more power and lux. Different targets marketing.

 

Right now all we have is each company's estimates.

GM has stated the Bolt is expected to have a base price of $37,500.

Tesla estimates for the Model 3 have the base model at $35,000.

The Bolt will most likely have the rebate for the first couple of years, making its cost $30k.
The Model 3 will likely have the rebate for part of its initial year, possibly only a few months.

So we may have a case where the Model 3 is less expensive for the first few months, then the Bolt for the next year or so, then the Model 3 again.

 

Currently Nissan Leaf MRSP comes from $29,500. 37K is crazy price...

 

I don't think it is, why do you think so?
The Leaf has a range of 84 miles. The Bolt over double that. Would you expect the prices to be the same?

If GM is smart, they will have battery pack options so that a 100 mile Bolt would cost, say $32k. While the 200 mile would cost $37.5k.

 

"Beta" wars comes to cars. . . .

Bob Wilson

 

Of course, that's why I think the Model 3 will get conquest sales from luxury ICE buyers. The Model S did so, but it also got those people that didn't want a luxury car but a 200 mile BEV, because it was the only one available. S owners here came from Prii and Volts.

The 3 will not have that advantage in the market place. There will be the Bolt and 150 mile Leaf. The 3 may end up with a lower starting price than the Bolt, but there are no details on it. The S has multiple battery sizes, so the 3 will likely also. At this point we don't know if 200 miles is the shortest range 3, or if the base one will have less than 200 miles.

For people that want a long range BEV, but can't swing the cost of a S, they'll likely get the Bolt or even the Leaf. Most of them are likely in a Prius as opposed to a RX400h. If Bolt lives up to the glowing reviews on the Spark EV's performance, I think most people will be happy in that department. Luxury appointments are nice, but generally come with higher insurance rates. The 3 will likely have a larger cabin, so some may opt for it for that reason.

Of course, this an opinion based on what is known now. With more details, the 3 might be something worth waiting for, and paying the higher price.

 

They get a $10K rebate in california (and texas, etc) with $7.5K in the states that don't give them more. That base leaf is stripped. I would expect the base bolt to be nicer, with better acceleration and usable range. GM doesn't expect to sell as many bolts as nissan sells leafs.

If the bolt comes in at $37.5 though lots will pick the less expensive gen II volt over it.

I just looked it up, when the ibm pc came out people said it would kill apple, but apple welcomed it. At that time apple had a market cap just shy of $700M and IBM $32B. Apple struggled without jobs, but having mainstream makers make pcs grew the market. Today, apples market cap is 754B, IBM well they sold off the pc business and didn't make it into phones so $162B. I think the bolt speeds adoption of bevs and helps model 3 sales but we won't know until 2020.

 

If NissanLEAF manufacturers are smart - they will have DESTROYED all thought of passive battery management - and gone the rout of total battery thermal management control.
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