Re:Renault will remotely lock down electric cars
by Pxtl on Thursday November 14, 2013 @02:31PM
(#6734863)
That explains it. So the battery is the most expensive and fragile part of the car and requires a lot of maintenance the owner doesn't want to deal with... so the manufacturer says "we'll own and take care of the battery stuff, you just own everything around the battery".
I see where they're coming from, but it's a very odd solution. Owning only part of a car is darned weird, and feels like a hackish workaround to the problems of clumsy warranties and leases.
Re:Renault will remotely lock down electric cars
by lloeki on Thursday November 14, 2013 @01:01PM
(#6734012)
> by the same company
nitpick: Nissan Motor Company, Limited and Renault S.A. are not the same company, they cross-own shares and have intimate technology agreements, and Ghosn is the executive head of both at once.
Re:Renault will remotely lock down electric cars
by masklinn on Thursday November 14, 2013 @12:21PM
(#6733605)
> Actually, it's $14,000.
Where from? Using the official storefronts it's £14000 in the UK (~$22000), 21500€ in Belgium and Spain, 20780€ in Austria, 21850€ in Italy and 20600€ in Germany.
The one country where it's significantly lower is France where it's 14500€... including a 6300€ "ecological rebate" from the government (for vehicles under 20g CO2/km)
All you are doing is shifting the risk for the most costly and fragile part of the car to the manufacturer. Everyone leases Leafs because no one wants to shoulder the risk of a bad $12,000 battery, but then if you scratch a door panel, you have to answer for that in two years. Financing $13,000 plus $100 a month for a battery is probably about the same price per month as the average lease.