It makes sense that a company called General Electric would be bullish on cars with cords. But even by that standard the company is diving into the deep end, with what it says will be the biggest order ever placed for electric vehicles.
Of course, almost any order would be the biggest order, but CEO Jeffrey Immelt isn’t screwing around. Speaking in London yesterday, he said GE will order “tens of thousands” of electric vehicles in about a week, a move that is sure to jump-start the nascent EV market as automakers like Nissan and General Motors bring the cars to showrooms later this year.
The plan makes sense for several reasons.
First and foremost, General Electric builds the equipment that provides one-third of the world’s electricity, so of course it will do everything possible to promote the technology. GE is moving quickly into the EV space, building charging stations and working with A123 Systems to develop batteries. According to Bloomberg, Immelt says about half of the company’s sales force of 45,000 employees will drive electric vehicles. That will go a long way toward raising public awareness of the technology. And don’t forget that GE Capital has a vehicle-leasing division.
“GE has been one of the biggest players in this game and certainly has a lot to gain from the electric vehicle,” Brett Smith, a vehicle technology analyst at the Center for Automotive Research, told Bloomberg. “They’ve really truly tried to push this hard to get things going, and it seems to be a core corporate value.”
Immelt didn’t specify a timeline for when the purchases would be made, nor did he identify which manufacturer(s) would receive the order. Smith told Bloomberg an order of that size would be filled by several companies. But our money is on Renault-Nissan getting the bulk of it.
Here’s why:
GE and Better Place recently announced a “technology and financing partnership” to develop public charging infrastructure and accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, especially by corporate fleets. Better Place, a Silicon Valley startup founded by Shai Agassi, plans to roll out charging infrastructure and battery-swap stations in Israel and elsewhere — and Renault is its partner in that endeavor.
Better Place and Renault signed a deal last year to put 100,000 EVs on the road in Israel and Denmark by 2016. Better Place also has been using converted Nissan Rogues to show off its battery-swap technology in Tokyo.
It’s worth noting that GE’s partnership with Better Place includes a plan to develop a mechanism for financing batteries — beginning with a pilot program to finance 10,000 batteries in Israel and Denmark. Who’s currently building the only car with a swappable battery? You guessed it — Renault. That car, the Fluence Z.E., is being tested in Israel.
General Electric and Nissan also are working together to develop so-called “smart charging.”
What’s more, Renault-Nissan is, at this point, the only company that looks like it could have the capacity to fill GE’s order. Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has made it clear he believes electrics are the future, and he is positioning the two automakers to lead the market.
Renault has at least three EVs in the works, and Ghosn has said it will have the capacity to build 200,000 EVs annually by 2015. Nissan’s Leaf arrives at the end of this year and will be followed by an electric Infiniti in 2013. Nissan says it has the capacity to build 50,000 Leafs worldwide next year and will increase that to 500,000 worldwide by the end of 2013.
This is all speculation, and there’s nothing to suggest GE won’t be buying some Chevrolet Volts or Ford Transit Connect Electric delivery vans or perhaps even some Codas or Teslas. But it looks like there are going to be a lot of electric Nissans and Renaults in GE parking lots before long.
And no matter how it works out, it’ll be an interesting play to watch.
Photo: Renault. The Renault Fluence Z.E. rolls in Paris.
Starting today, you can take part in history by placing your order for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. This moment is the culmination of several years of around-the-clock, steadfast work and I know I speak for the entire Volt team when I say we couldn’t be more excited!
For those of you looking to be among the first to own a Volt, simply locate and contact a participating Chevrolet dealer in Volt launch markets at GetMyVolt.com. Once your order is placed, a Volt customer advisor will contact you to answer questions and keep you updated on the progress of your order.
We’ve also pulled together a team of Volt advisors who, beginning today, will be available at 1-888-VOLT4YOU (1-888-865-8496) to answer general questions. The Volt will initially be available to customers in California, New York, Washington, D.C., Texas, Michigan Connecticut and New Jersey, but will be available nationwide in about 12-18 months from start of production this winter.
As far as the price, the Volt’s official MSRP is $41,000 – or $33,500 (including DFC) after the $7,500 U.S. Federal income tax credit. We are so confident in the resale value of the Volt, we will also offer a lease program with monthly payments as low as $350 (based on a 36-month term lease and $2,500 down), which also includes a lease-to-buy option.
Why are we so confident?
The Volt is an electric vehicle that gives you the freedom to drive wherever you want, whenever you want. With the Volt’s extended-range capability, you can drive electrically up to 340 miles on a full battery and tank of gas, with up to the first 40 miles powered by electricity from the grid. Plus, the Volt is an electric vehicle for all climates and seasons, comfortable in the freezing temperatures of the Northeast to the scorching temperatures of the deserts out West – we know, we’ve tested the Volt extensively in these conditions.
Plus, the Volt comes standard with an unprecedented battery warranty – eight years or 100,000 miles on all 161 battery components, the thermal management system, charging system and electric drive components. It will also be the first Chevrolet vehicle to offer, at no additional cost, five years of OnStar Directions and Connections service, which includes automatic crash response, stolen vehicle assistance and connected navigation.
And speaking of OnStar, the Volt gives you an unprecedented level of connectivity with the Chevrolet Connect mobile app by OnStar. This Volt mobile and web-based app will allow you to set the charge time, start your Volt, track mileage, unlock the doors and much more from your smart phone and even your home computer.
In fact, the personalized and connected ownership experience is just getting into full swing when you take delivery of your Volt because we’re creating a website designed specifically for Volt owners to collect diagnostic information as well as track and share your vehicle’s performance.
I could go on and on all day about all the benefits and premium features the Volt has to offer, such as screen-based navigation, an energy-efficient Bose premium sound system, Bluetooth for phone with phone book access and more, but then I would be keeping you from locating your dealer and placing your order. You can find more info at GetMyVolt.com.
It’s been a remarkable journey, and we’re confident you’ll be delighted with the outcome when you receive your Volt. The future is electric – we hope you’ll join us for the ride.
And make sure to join me here on Voltage later today for a video webchat from the show floor of Plug-In 2010 where Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz and I will answer your questions live at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.
This article originally appeared on EcoStiletto.com, a website dedicated to sustainable, eco-friendly, green and organic fashion and health.
Leilani Munter encapsulates the ecoista’s dilemma: It’s all well and good to want to live sustainably until you work in an industry that doesn’t share your views. What are you supposed to do, quit your job?
Leilani takes this concept to an extreme most of us can’t even imagine. That’s because she is—if you haven’t already guessed from the photos—a racecar driver. Not just any racecar driver, mind you, Leilani has serious on-track cred. She’s the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series. She set the record for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the Texas Motor Speedway when she finished fourth in 2006. Sports Illustrated named her one of the top 10 female racecar drivers in the world.
The girl really can’t drive 55. More like 200.
But all that speed takes a serious environmental toll—and Leilani knows it. When we asked her what her eco-sin was she answered, “That’s easy: My racecar.”
Leilani also sees her profession as an opportunity to inspire positive change in the 100 million fans that make racing the number-one spectator sport in America. “If I was just another vegetarian, tree hugging, biology graduate asking people to give up meat and stop using plastic bags, I don’t know how many people would be listening to me,” Leilani told us. “But because I drive a racecar, I have an ability to reach a new audience of people that most environmentalists are probably not talking to.” (more…)
The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute’s Kimberly Taylor gives NGVsNow an overview of this year’s Las Vegas conference and shares some thoughts on the future of natural gas in America.
Markey gave a fiery address about the need for the U.S. to become the leader in alternative energy. What I found interesting was his view that regulation can be a catalyst to those efforts. While many business leaders think that regulation in anathema to innovation, Markey disagrees. He pointed to his prior work on the Telecommunications Committee that shifted a segment of the broadcast spectrum into commercial use for cellular and other wireless communications. Without that regulatory move, the cell phone and broadband revolutions would have been greatly slowed or might never have happened at all.
The lesson is that the private and public sectors can be catalysts for each other. The private sector organizations pushing for adoption of a carbon cost bill (either a carbon tax or cap-and-trade) are hoping that it will spur another revolution. They are also, to be honest, hoping to seek regulatory advantage by getting a bill that aligns with their competitive position. Public players have their own interests, too. They are hoping to get jobs created in their districts, contributions from companies that do well as a result of the legislation, and have something to point to as accomplishment in the next election cycle.
Markey gave a fiery address about the need for the U.S. to become the leader in alternative energy. What I found interesting was his view that regulation can be a catalyst to those efforts. While many business leaders think that regulation in anathema to innovation, Markey disagrees. He pointed to his prior work on the Telecommunications Committee that shifted a segment of the broadcast spectrum into commercial use for cellular and other wireless communications. Without that regulatory move, the cell phone and broadband revolutions would have been greatly slowed or might never have happened at all.