ThudnBlundr said:
Woodman411 said:
As I mentioned, a big factor here is cost. You neglected to mention that in France, the 41 kWh version costs about $3,000 euros more than the 22 kWh version, and that's *without the battery* - one then has to pay a monthly lease for the battery. Think that will work for the Outlander?
The wiki link does say that in Norway, the price difference is about $5,000 US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Zoe
While reading Wikipedia is to be commended, you're confusing marketing with actual production costs. I'd certainly pay more for a PHEV that has a longer EV range, though the actual production cost on an enlarged battery is dropping all the time and certainly won't be much, if any, more than the initial cost of the smaller battery. Many car manufacturers charge varying amounts for basically identical cars - for instance BMW's 2 litre diesel is available in at least 3 different states of tune in various models, with very subtle physical differences between the engines, but a significant price difference.
I'm not confused with anything. The wiki reference is specific and accurate - $5,000 difference between 22 kWh and 41 kWh. It doesn't matter what the "actual costs" are, what matters is consumers have to pay $5,000 to get double the range with the Zoe. About this: "enlarged battery is dropping all the time and certainly won't be much, if any, more than the initial cost of the smaller battery" - where do you see this? With the Zoe? Because if we take Norway as an example (France has a monthly rental cost with the battery), in 2014 the 21 kWh costs 191,980 kr (or $21,112 US). 4 years later, the 41 kWh costs 229,900 kr (or $25,282). Is it possible you assumed that Zoe doubled its range while maintaining the same price? It didn't. Here's another reference in the Tesla Model S. In 2012, the 60 kWh version costs $67,400. 6 years later, the 75 kWh version costs $74,500. Don't really see it with Tesla either.