Battery Cost - Bolt EV is $145 / kWh

[boltplease]

Found this article (from South Korea, which is where LG is located) talking about the lithium ion batteries that LG Chem is supplying GM for the Bolt EV

It says that Chevy Volt battery pack back in 2008 cost $1000 per kWh and now the cost is down to $145 per kWh.

If that is true, then the 60 kWh battery pack in the Bolt EV only costs $8700? That's almost low enough that the total battery pack cost is covered by the $750 federal tax rebate!

http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/13842-reflected-benefit-chevrolet-bolt-ev-expected-enjoy-huge-popularity

 

[picasso]

Some predictions put the cost per kWh below $75 by the year 2020, that could really make a range difference in electric vehicles of that generation!

 

[Anonymous]

The battery CELL (NOT pack) cost was listed as $145/kWh.

Whereas the battery pack with heating/cooling, contactors, container, wiring will for sure add to the overall cost.

Plus, GM only got that rate due to purchasing a wide variety of systems for the Bolt from LG, so the cell cost being low is only one factor of the overall vehicle price.

Other car makers buying cells from LG Chem are paying much more than GM, likely because they weren't willing to compromise and purchase as much of the other LG items like audio system, motor, charger, etc.

 

[Aidan]

As the demand grows for electric vehicles so will the demand for nickel Cobalt and maganese metals that power their batteries. Maybe a head's up in what too put our investment in

 

[MINK]

Is this cost applicable for all the states?

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Is this cost applicable for all the states?

This is the cost of the battery cells, as purchased by GM. You or I cannot go to LG Chem and buy cells at this price. GM has a contract with LG Chem. Presumably they agreed to buy exclusively from LG Chem for some number of years, and in some minimum quantity. In return, LG Chem has agreed to sell the cells for dirty cheap. I personally assume that LG Chem will be losing money on the cells in 2016 at this price. But they fully expect the increased quantity to allow them to make a profit in the near future (maybe 2017, maybe not until 2018).

And the assembled pack will obviously cost more than the sum of the cells.

 

[Aidan]

The costs are coming down considerably and at a fast pace

 

[d2170]

Some predictions put the cost per kWh below $75 by the year 2020, that could really make a range difference in electric vehicles of that generation!

1) I am not sure if I believe LG Chem is at $145 per kWh today (cells)

2) Elon Musk and JB Straubel have said the raw materials necessary to make the cells cost about $80 today. That is, before processing the raw materials to actually make the cells. So, it is very unlikely we will ever see $100 per kWh cells in the future.

3) Because the Bolt is still a "compliant" car, i.e. GM will only make 30,000 to 50,000 units regardless of demand, I believe it is entirely possible GM will lose money on every Bolt they sell.

4) Ball-park guess .... If this form factor (the compact crossover Bolt) was a 4 cylinder car, it would retail for about $17,500. Since the Bolt is priced at $37,500, I suspect the battery pack is costing GM approximately $20,000 ($20,000 / 60 kWh, or $333 per kWh)

5) Being able to achieve 238 miles of range in late 2016 at a price point of $37,500 is an incredible achievement by GM and LG Chem.

 

[DucRider]

3) Because the Bolt is still a "compliant" car, i.e. GM will only make 30,000 to 50,000 units regardless of demand,

The term is actually compliance car, and if your definition is strictly volume, every Tesla ever sold is a compliance car (no model has ever sold 30K/yr).
And GM has repeatedly stated that the Bolt is not production constrained :roll:

 

[d2170]

Loss of $9000 per Bolt sold by GM. Article at Bloomberg:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-30/gm-s-ready-to-lose-9-000-a-pop-and-chase-the-electric-car-boom

And regarding ZEV credits, the following from the article:

Here’s how the math works for GM in California. Let’s say it sells a total of 219,962 vehicles in one model year (as it did, in fact, in 2015). To avoid heavy fines or the threat of getting shut out entirely, it would need state-awarded ZEV credits equal to 14 percent of the total -- or 30,794. That would mean finding buyers for 7,698 Bolts, earning four credits for each, or 10,082 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrids or a combination of the two.

“EVs are compliance vehicles and GM knows this,” said the CarLab’s Noble. “The Bolt will take sales from all of the other vehicles on the market, and GM will get a lot of credits.”

 

[samiam95124]

That article was a serious downer.