JF: You’ve got an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), the Ram 1500 Rev, slated to come out this year.
TK: You look at a fully battery electric truck and then you do the range-extended one over here. And you go, wait a minute. On the fully electric, I’ve got EDMs (electric drive modules), I’ve got a battery; on the extended-range, I’ve got EDMs, I’ve got a battery. But oh, this one [the extended-range truck] has got an engine and a generator. It must be way more expensive.
Actually, no. This one’s way less expensive. How can that be? Well, I take a big vehicle like a truck or a big SUV. In the case of the truck, it was a 168- and a 229-kilowatt-hour battery. So, let’s say your cost per kW hour is $100. It’s not, it’s more than that, but let’s just say it is. I’ve got a $22,000 battery in this car. Now, I go to this car — since I have the range-extended option — now, I can put in a 92-kilowatt-hour battery. I just saved $11,000 in cost.
Game changer. I get all the advantages; I get none of the customer disadvantages. I don’t have to worry about infrastructure, I don’t have to worry about range, I don’t have to worry about towing, I don’t have to worry about temperature, and I’ve got a lower cost for us, so I can be more price competitive. Very few things in this industry are win-win: great for us and great for the customer. Very few things.
