Re:GM plans electric van for business users
by mdgrech23 on Thursday June 04, 2020 @11:22AM
(#23417815)
There's a little more going here. GM derives 50%+ of it's income from China at this point. In China the wealthy commonly ride around in vans w/ a servant driving. This work is intended for that market.
Re:GM plans electric van for business users
by bonestamp2 on Thursday June 04, 2020 @01:54PM
(#23419643)
> This work is intended for that market.
I'm sure that market will buy them too, and that market is growing in the US too (mostly NYC and LA) but I don't think that's the intention. The article specifically says, "The GM electric van project is aimed at an important segment of the emerging EV market – commercial delivery vehicles."
Swappable batteries, like they have for electric warehouse forklifts, would likely help solve the charging speed issue... but it adds an infrastructure challenge. Someone like the Postal Service would be a good candidate since they have many "warehouses" where they could station battery chargers/swappers. AMZL, UPS, Fedex, etc would be more difficult since they tend to have fewer warehouses that are further from many of their delivery endpoints. It's not impossible, and they'll likely be forced to go electric at some point, but it will require additional infrastructure.