# Has Tesla Scared Fiat Into Building Electric Cars?



## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

electrico said:


> It looks like Fiat is finally going to build some electric cars after all. For those of you who have been watching the auto industry, it was clear that Fiat (and Chrysler) had been trailing all of the other major automakers in having any plan for electrification of their cars. There was no hint of any interest in building competitive EVs, and in fact their CEO Sergio Marchionne suggested that buyers skip buying their Fiat 500e, because they were losing $10,000 on each one sold.
> 
> 
> How do you think the EV landscape will change in 10 years? I think we may even fly by then.



Unless we run out of ideas, the 65 year trend (and finally supported by industry skeptics) says that battery cars will be cheaper than ICE by 2025. Solar plus batteries will be cheaper than coal plants by 2028.


Price is king. All previous predictions of "going solar" were nonsense because solar wasn't anywhere near the price of traditional power. Now it is, and it would take an extinction level event to stop us reaching and surpassing break-even. Once it wins on price, the biggest holdup will be the ability of industry to spool up. People didn't switch to computers because they ran out of typewriters.



Don't expect the change to happen overnight. It takes roughly 30 years for 85% of the cars built in any one year to be trashed. It will take a similar time frame for power plants to wear out, although if prices drop enough for alternatives they may get replaced faster than the automotive fleet.


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## electrico (May 18, 2017)

I do agree that the battery cars will be cheaper soon.


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## Karter2 (Nov 17, 2011)

The only people Tesla has scared are its investors !
Fiat, as with most mass car manufacturers are responding to new legislation being introduced in many major developed car markets, that threaten to restrict (if not completely ban) the sale of IEC cars at some point in the not too distant future.
Any company who wants to still be in auto manufacturing in 10-15 years must have a plan to respond to that possibility.
Fiat are one of the few companies who have actual experience in producing an EV and bringing it to world markets. It may not have been profitable, but you can bet they now have a large resource of skills and knowledge to respond when the market is favorable.
The key ia still battery technology (size , weight, capacity) and price.
Until that roadblock is removed, i dont see any real EV impact on the auto market.
And i dont see Tesla being a leader in a battery revolution of the magnitude that is required...! 
Being honest , Teslas big development for EV batteries has simply been to make a slightly bigger "laptop" cell and a big factory to make them in.
What is needed is a revolutionary cell that has 500% more energy density and only 25% of the cost.


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