this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
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[–] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 23 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (4 children)

The R2 will start at $45,000 and will begin rolling off the production line in Normal, Illinois early in 2026.

These new EV companies have no plan to release affordable EVs anytime soon, huh? The sort of EV's equivalent of honda fit / ford fiesta with minimal features at affordable price?

[–] ehrik@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I mean theres a couple of layers to it. One, they don't have the production capabilities to mass produce yet. They were able to produce ~25,000 in 2022 and then ~58,000 in 2023.

Two, the margins tend to be low on cheaper models which means you need to sell more. For a brand new company that needs to set up its own production line in addition to design, engineering, etc. it's a lot of money to burn through.

It also gives them time to fix issues and figure things out so they aren't recalling a million vehicles, but a much smaller set instead. These companies aren't going to get everything right the first time so going to the mass market off the rip would be suicidal.

If they make it through the next couple years or so, we may begin to see a much more affordable price point from these new EV companies

[–] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 5 points 8 months ago

Yep these things are still in their infancy. You can't really compare them to vehicles with traditional powertrains that have been built and sold for the last 100+ years.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

The r3 might be cheaper. Rivian isn’t big enough to sell cheap vehicles.

You can get a hybrid Corolla for under $25k if you want cheap.

[–] CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

It's still too expensive without government incentives, and the Leaf is going to be discontinued next year, right? Also replaced with a $40k crossover. Instead of producing cheaper EVs, they produce even more expensive EVs to replace the previous models.

[–] hobovision@lemm.ee 0 points 8 months ago

I thought R2 is pretty much the size of a Honda CRV, much bigger than a Fit. The Fit has very little 2nd row room and a pathetic amount of space behind the seats, about as wide as a single carryon suitcase.

The R3 looked like the size of a Civic (but taller) and I do hope that one can get down into the 20k range, but I'll be surprised. Model 3 is still nearly 40k at minimum.