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I wonder what that £20k would turn in to if you could commit to your suppliers that you would be buying a thousand units worth? What about only 100 units worth?

by jdboyd 7y ago

ChrisRR 7y ago
I would guess that it's mostly labour. Unless you could get a fleet of identical cars or vans, then every vehicle is going to be a bespoke job, slowing things down.
- karambahh 7y ago
  Trafic/Vivaro are the same car, jointly produced by Open/Vauxhall & Renault so economies of scale could be found. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Trafic_III_-_Fiat_Talento_II_-_Nissan_NV300_-_Opel_Vivaro_II https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Trafic_III_-_Fiat_Tale...
- lstodd 7y ago
  It's front wheel drive. Assuming new drive units come complete with everything but wheels, the change would take about an hour or two. EDIT: esp since you can just use an angle grinder on the old pack
- djaychela 7y ago
  My 'plan' was thought of because the Trafic/Vivaro/Primastar are all the same van, and the labour wouldn't be much - getting the engine and gearbox out can be done in a couple of hours when you're using a ramp, and if the conversion kit was intelligently made to pick up on the same mounting points as the standard engine/transmission then it would fit back in really quickly. The same powertrain is also used in their larger models - Master/Movano (can't think of the Nissan one), so that would also be another market. The labour would be minimal compared to the cost of the batteries.
djaychela 7y ago
TBH I never found out - even doing a one-off is beyond me financially, so it's not something I bothered pursuing. I'd imagine you could get a good cost reduction on the parts if you were committed to volume, but no matter what the batteries to give it a worthwhile range would be the lion's share of the cost. My van has a 700+ mile range on diesel (it gives me about 40mpg on a run), and while you wouldn't get that, I think lots would want 300 mile range before they'd consider it as most workmen do a fair mileage.

I wonder what that £20k would turn in to if you could commit to your suppliers that you would be buying a thousand units worth? What about only 100 units worth?

by jdboyd 7y ago

I wonder what that £20k would turn in to if you could commit to your suppliers that you would be buying a thousand units worth? What about only 100 units worth?

ChrisRR 7y ago

I would guess that it's mostly labour. Unless you could get a fleet of identical cars or vans, then every vehicle is going to be a bespoke job, slowing things down.

karambahh 7y ago
Trafic/Vivaro are the same car, jointly produced by Open/Vauxhall & Renault so economies of scale could be found. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Trafic_III_-_Fiat_Talento_II_-_Nissan_NV300_-_Opel_Vivaro_II https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Trafic_III_-_Fiat_Tale...
lstodd 7y ago
It's front wheel drive. Assuming new drive units come complete with everything but wheels, the change would take about an hour or two. EDIT: esp since you can just use an angle grinder on the old pack
djaychela 7y ago
My 'plan' was thought of because the Trafic/Vivaro/Primastar are all the same van, and the labour wouldn't be much - getting the engine and gearbox out can be done in a couple of hours when you're using a ramp, and if the conversion kit was intelligently made to pick up on the same mounting points as the standard engine/transmission then it would fit back in really quickly. The same powertrain is also used in their larger models - Master/Movano (can't think of the Nissan one), so that would also be another market. The labour would be minimal compared to the cost of the batteries.

djaychela 7y ago

TBH I never found out - even doing a one-off is beyond me financially, so it's not something I bothered pursuing. I'd imagine you could get a good cost reduction on the parts if you were committed to volume, but no matter what the batteries to give it a worthwhile range would be the lion's share of the cost. My van has a 700+ mile range on diesel (it gives me about 40mpg on a run), and while you wouldn't get that, I think lots would want 300 mile range before they'd consider it as most workmen do a fair mileage.