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>How much of the ICE vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing capacity and know-how is going to be irrelevant in the EV world? Not very much. It really doesn'

>How much of the ICE vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing capacity and know-how is going to be irrelevant in the EV world? Not very much. It really doesn't matter what kind of powertrain you have in your vehicles, the biggest part of the manufacturing process is everything else that makes up a vehicle. Frame, suspension, brakes, doors, windows, seats, dash, cabin interior, lighting, electronics, safety systems, sensors, testing, inspection, etc. etc. etc. On top of that, plenty of automotive plants these days get fully-assembled engines and sometimes driveshafts as well from other factories for efficiency and bolt them into vehicles rather than doing build-up from scratch. I've spent quite a bit of time in vehicle factories of several OEMs. I would estimate that less than a quarter of an average factory line is used for powertrain.

jcims 7y ago
That’s at the assembly plant though where the powertrain resolves to a few part numbers. In terms of R&D, warranty, service and overall longevity it represents a lot more than that.
- mdorazio 7y ago
  Agreed. Parts* & Service are two giant profit centers that take a big hit with EVs, which is one of the reasons dealers have been so resistant to selling them for years now. The actual manufacturing doesn't get a whole lot easier, though, which is one of the reasons there have been so many EV startup failures. *Note: Parts here means only powertrain parts. Tesla, for example, is notorious for having massive delays in repair parts availability for things like doors, trim, and windows.
- ilikehurdles 7y ago
  Companies like Toyota and VW roll out a new chassis once or twice a decade and you see some amount of shared powertrain parts everywhere from economy level to high-end performance and luxury models. They're really good at building common skeletons where every part of a car is pieced together like interchangeable legos. The research cost is high but the investment is inevitably returned with the scale and time available to these entities.

jcims 7y ago

That’s at the assembly plant though where the powertrain resolves to a few part numbers. In terms of R&D, warranty, service and overall longevity it represents a lot more than that.

mdorazio 7y ago
Agreed. Parts* & Service are two giant profit centers that take a big hit with EVs, which is one of the reasons dealers have been so resistant to selling them for years now. The actual manufacturing doesn't get a whole lot easier, though, which is one of the reasons there have been so many EV startup failures. *Note: Parts here means only powertrain parts. Tesla, for example, is notorious for having massive delays in repair parts availability for things like doors, trim, and windows.
ilikehurdles 7y ago
Companies like Toyota and VW roll out a new chassis once or twice a decade and you see some amount of shared powertrain parts everywhere from economy level to high-end performance and luxury models. They're really good at building common skeletons where every part of a car is pieced together like interchangeable legos. The research cost is high but the investment is inevitably returned with the scale and time available to these entities.