4 ms·

None of those companies builds their own motors and batteries. They get them as kits, same as you can get ICE engines. It’s simpler to integrate, that’s for su

None of those companies builds their own motors and batteries. They get them as kits, same as you can get ICE engines. It’s simpler to integrate, that’s for sure, but not orders of magnitude.

wongarsu 6y ago
ICE engines need plumbing to fuel tank and exhaust, and they need a transmission. They also need a battery and alternator to power the lights, and either a starter motor or kickstarter to get the motor going. In comparison an electrical motor is just a motor, battery and charger in the minimal setup
jillesvangurp 6y ago
Elektrek has been running a series of amusing articles lately where they review some outrageously cheap vehicles for sale on Alibaba. Think mini jeeps, SUVs, pickup trucks, go carts, etc. selling for something like 1500$. Some of these look like a lot of fun. None of those are street legal of course but they are dirt cheap. That's kind of the point. All you need is some cheap batteries and an electric motor. Most of these vehicles even use lead acid batteries (cheaper). It's not a high tech business and mass production is pretty straightforward. India and China have several EVs targeted at their domestic market priced around 5000$ selling in rather large volumes. Nothing world shocking in terms of performance or range but they are basically very nice city cars. Mass producing small vehicles with off the shelf cheap batteries and electro motors is going to be vastly simpler than producing a lot of fragile ICE technology in need of frequent servicing, spare parts, etc. Basically, take the engine out of any cheap washing machine (around 1500kw), add some basic mechanics for wheels, steering, brakes and a battery and you have a nice vehicle. That's pretty much all the technology you need. A handy mechanic could probably put together a nice car from parts like that for next to nothing.
- wil421 6y ago
  Most of those cheap Alibaba vehicles look like what we would call golf carts in the US.
  - CyberDildonics 6y ago
    In many communities people don't need more than a golf cart or scooter the vast majority of the time.
    - toss1 6y ago
      Plus, many communities actually use them to get around, e.g., communities around golf courses, retirement communities, etc. I know someone who bought a house in a community near a golf course in SoCal, and it came with an extra garage door and nook just sized for a golf cart (he didn't have or use a cart, but the house was built with that feature).
brainless 6y ago
I am a software engineer and I am not crazy enough to build a minimal ICE vehicle. But after spending decent teenage and college years in battery and small motors, I am actually confident enough to build a 3 people mover, slow and all, but it will go. There really is an order of magnitude difference in the complexity. The typical ICE already has electric batteries and motors. But the EV does not have the ICE parts. No dealing with oils either.
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  Yet every yokel with a garage, builds an ICE car for fun. Not even college educated. Some disconnect here?
  - K0balt 6y ago
    Plenty of people buid airplanes and helicopters too.. Established templates and parts compatibility make it possible for people without a great deal of engineering knowledge but a high level of technical skill (which apparently many yokels posess) to build things. Building an ice vs electric vehicle in the discussion context means design plus build, not a kit or retrofit. It's a bit different.
    - bluGill 6y ago
      In 1900 people designed built their ICE and their car at the same time. It isn't hard to design an ICE. What is hard is designing an ICE that will run for years and meets modern emissions standards. Note that in 1900 the electric car was also seen as viable and people were building it. For "reasons" the ICE took off, while the electric car remained as mostly a thing people did in their garage.
      - WorldMaker 6y ago
        The "reasons" had nothing to do with simplicity of building one yourself, however: neither of the two biggest trends were "simple", from the industrialization of a complex process into an assembly line (notably Ford, but then competitors) to the logistics of setting up a fuel supply chain versus battery chemistry efforts of the time. (Most diaries and reports at the time seemed to imply that the DIY car people of the early 1900s much preferred the simplicity of the electric car and had some miracle happened at the time in battery chemistry the world would have shifted a much different direction.)

None of those companies builds their own motors and batteries. They get them as kits, same as you can get ICE engines. It’s simpler to integrate, that’s for sure, but not orders of magnitude.

wongarsu 6y ago

ICE engines need plumbing to fuel tank and exhaust, and they need a transmission. They also need a battery and alternator to power the lights, and either a starter motor or kickstarter to get the motor going. In comparison an electrical motor is just a motor, battery and charger in the minimal setup

jillesvangurp 6y ago

Elektrek has been running a series of amusing articles lately where they review some outrageously cheap vehicles for sale on Alibaba. Think mini jeeps, SUVs, pickup trucks, go carts, etc. selling for something like 1500$. Some of these look like a lot of fun. None of those are street legal of course but they are dirt cheap. That's kind of the point. All you need is some cheap batteries and an electric motor. Most of these vehicles even use lead acid batteries (cheaper). It's not a high tech business and mass production is pretty straightforward. India and China have several EVs targeted at their domestic market priced around 5000$ selling in rather large volumes. Nothing world shocking in terms of performance or range but they are basically very nice city cars. Mass producing small vehicles with off the shelf cheap batteries and electro motors is going to be vastly simpler than producing a lot of fragile ICE technology in need of frequent servicing, spare parts, etc. Basically, take the engine out of any cheap washing machine (around 1500kw), add some basic mechanics for wheels, steering, brakes and a battery and you have a nice vehicle. That's pretty much all the technology you need. A handy mechanic could probably put together a nice car from parts like that for next to nothing.

wil421 6y ago
Most of those cheap Alibaba vehicles look like what we would call golf carts in the US.
- CyberDildonics 6y ago
  In many communities people don't need more than a golf cart or scooter the vast majority of the time.
  - toss1 6y ago
    Plus, many communities actually use them to get around, e.g., communities around golf courses, retirement communities, etc. I know someone who bought a house in a community near a golf course in SoCal, and it came with an extra garage door and nook just sized for a golf cart (he didn't have or use a cart, but the house was built with that feature).

brainless 6y ago

I am a software engineer and I am not crazy enough to build a minimal ICE vehicle. But after spending decent teenage and college years in battery and small motors, I am actually confident enough to build a 3 people mover, slow and all, but it will go. There really is an order of magnitude difference in the complexity. The typical ICE already has electric batteries and motors. But the EV does not have the ICE parts. No dealing with oils either.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
Yet every yokel with a garage, builds an ICE car for fun. Not even college educated. Some disconnect here?
- K0balt 6y ago
  Plenty of people buid airplanes and helicopters too.. Established templates and parts compatibility make it possible for people without a great deal of engineering knowledge but a high level of technical skill (which apparently many yokels posess) to build things. Building an ice vs electric vehicle in the discussion context means design plus build, not a kit or retrofit. It's a bit different.
  - bluGill 6y ago
    In 1900 people designed built their ICE and their car at the same time. It isn't hard to design an ICE. What is hard is designing an ICE that will run for years and meets modern emissions standards. Note that in 1900 the electric car was also seen as viable and people were building it. For "reasons" the ICE took off, while the electric car remained as mostly a thing people did in their garage.
    - WorldMaker 6y ago
      The "reasons" had nothing to do with simplicity of building one yourself, however: neither of the two biggest trends were "simple", from the industrialization of a complex process into an assembly line (notably Ford, but then competitors) to the logistics of setting up a fuel supply chain versus battery chemistry efforts of the time. (Most diaries and reports at the time seemed to imply that the DIY car people of the early 1900s much preferred the simplicity of the electric car and had some miracle happened at the time in battery chemistry the world would have shifted a much different direction.)