[Caevlist] EV conversion affordability

[gburket at peak.org]

On the question of EV conversion affordability, I've outlined some areas to address this issue using the Nissan Leaf as an example: 

Drive System: 
I just priced two used 2013 Leaf EV drive systems(DS) at a salvage yard with 40-60k miles on them. The DS includes the charger(110V/220VAC input, DC fast charge input, AC pump control, and DC to DC), motor control inverter, motor, and reduction gear/differential. The cost is $600 each. Amazingly, $250 less than one of your new Leaf headlights! These DSs look small enough to be a pretty easy drop-in in most FWD vehicles, and possibly some mid-engine cars. Rated @ 110 hp, they have much less power than the 300-400HP Teslas. This DS does take the Leaf to over 90MPH, so it's probably good enough for smaller vehicles. 

Batteries: 
A company in CA is converting the Tesla 6S (~24V) battery modules to a 12S (~48V ) configuration. 8 of these in series are close to the Leaf's stock voltage and give 44 to 50 kWh of storage capacity, almost twice that of the stock Leaf's battery . This is with a battery weight close to the Leaf's stock battery weight, giving the vehicle ~2X the stock Leaf's range. The cost of the modified modules is pretty high, ~$1600/ module, for a total of ~$13,000. The price of the Tesla unmodified modules has plateaued recently at ~$1400. I suspect the price will drop as more modules come onto the market. A S100D complete battery pack recently sold on ebay for ~$11k. This takes the price down to ~ $700 per module-say in a group purchase. Batteries will probably always be the most expensive cost for a conversion. 

Sensors, controls, BMS, general wiring, software mods, drive-line hook-up, safe battery installation: 
Could someone else with more experience jump in here to give some idea of the costs involved? 

Other conversion costs, labor? 

Donor vehicle cost: 
Again, does someone else have more experience in this area? 

Please let me know your thoughts on this, Glenn 



From: "Alan Batie" <alan at batie.org> 
To: "caevlist" <caevlist at www.rdrop.com> 
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2018 11:26:18 PM 
Subject: Re: [Caevlist] And the rest advance a notch 

On 2/27/18 7:24 PM, gburket at peak.org wrote: 
> Can you wait for the Hyundai Kona crossover to come out. It looks like 
> it will have good range and relaxed seating for us flexibility deprived 
> people. 

The Hyundai site doesn't say anything about it being a hybrid of any 
sort... Oh, I see the announcement just today of the EV version, and 
wow, that does look interesting. Another reason to go with a 1-year 
lease - there's a lot coming out in a year! 

> Soon you could pick your ICE vehicle(within a practical design range), 
> and have people like Otmar, Kirk, or me convert it for you. 

That's an interesting idea, but unlikely to be affordable... 


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