Hyundai price gouging new EV battery, or so it seems??

[CKN]

If we go back to my addict example, let's say we (the West) have become addicted to an expensive and powerful domestically-produced painkiller (trucks) for treating everything from headaches to general aches and pains (everything motive related) as a result of the system (doctors) prescribing it for everything, and regulation encouraging this. The solution isn't to say "screw it", scrap the regulation and allow flooding of the market with Chinese Fentanyl for pennies, handing them a dangerous and potentially fatal monopoly. It should be to change the regulation and the system so that this isn't the result while still keeping the Fentanyl out. (Crap analogy but I think you get the gist).

Europe doesn't have the truck presence situation that we have in Canada and the US (I expect there will naturally be disagreement on whether this is a problem or not). This is as a result of them having more expensive fuel and considerably different regulation than we have in North America. As you noted, their domestic marques have successfully sold smaller cars (particularly diesels) in the European market forever, and competitively.

I guess the bigger question is: How does a society whose existence is now predicated on massive and perpetual consumption, break that addiction and shift to something more sustainable, without invoking total systematic collapse?

The answer is two fold. Number one is the price of trucks are escalating beyond the middle class ability to afford them. You are only going to be able to go for extended loan terms for a certain term of time-before it doesn't make sense even for the average person. Next is the price of fuel-for those who are able to afford them-only a certain percentage will be willing to pay "European type prices" for fuel if it comes to that.
So-those are two factors (among others-I haven't mentioned) which will have bearing on America's "Truck issues".

I think the long term outlook is bleak for Americas largest truck manufacturer. Their market is a house of cards and it will be awhile-but it will crash down.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Yep, and totally avoidable by doing your homework before buying and/or not rushing out like a mad man to be an early adopter of something this new. Losing money is one of the best teachers in the world. Hopefully those buyers learned from their mistake, and share it with others looking to race out and buy one this early in the game.

I have a different point of view. I bought the Model 3 in Dec 2018 when Teslas new toy for Silicon Valley granola heads and the company was sure to be belly up within months.
GM and Toyota shuttered the Fremont plant; years before Ford shuttered the Milpitas plant (Mustangs baby!). Thousands of good paying jobs were lost The local community tax base was decimated, homes were lost, etc.

I bought the car in large part in support of Tesla's initiative and jobs jobs jobs. Today over 20K people work there and they are always hiring. Far more than GM or NUMMI ever employed. Shoulda bought more stock...

It takes the will to invest. Investment is costly. You need the will to fail fast and move forward.

 

[demarpaint]

I have a different point of view. I bought the Model 3 in Dec 2018 when Teslas new toy for Silicon Valley granola heads and the company was sure to be belly up within months.
GM and Toyota shuttered the Fremont plant; years before Ford shuttered the Milpitas plant (Mustangs baby!). Thousands of good paying jobs were lost The local community tax base was decimated, homes were lost, etc.

I bought the car in large part in support of Tesla's initiative and jobs jobs jobs. Today over 20K people work there and they are always hiring. Far more than GM or NUMMI ever employed. Shoulda bought more stock...

It takes the will to invest. Investment is costly. You need the will to fail fast and move forward.

You're entitled to your opinion. I've made plenty of investments, moved fast and forward too. Knowing when to cut a loss is one of the smartest things a good investor can do, along with knowing what not to invest in. New car, new technology for that company, let someone else make the mistake, it can be one less shot at a failure. Comparing being an early adopter on an new EV car platform to an investment is like comparing an apple to a hand grenade, both can be thrown, that's about it.

 

[Torrid]

Bingo.

Looks like BMW has taken a much better approach:
View attachment 194499
View attachment 194500

It's possible to swap cell modules and I really hope the market goes this way. I've only seen this in the aftermarket so far with EV repair. Of course the manufacturers are doing this for refurbs for warranty work, but they're not offering the service direct to the customer.

 

[OVERKILL]

It's possible to swap cell modules and I really hope the market goes this way. I've only seen this in the aftermarket so far with EV repair. Of course the manufacturers are doing this for refurbs for warranty work, but they're not offering the service direct to the customer.

BMW doesn't seem to even offer the full pack from what I see. But every part associated is available with it. I also found a post about an i4 that had a single module replaced under warranty, so they indeed seem to be doing this correctly. Makes me an even bigger fan of their EV's now.

 

[Ws6]

Considering it's nearly 3 times the cost of the Model 3 battery it's beyond ridiculous. I get if that's what it's costing Hyundai to build these things, but they need to get some costs under control if that's the case. That and better shielding to protect said battery.

Tesla has the same issues. Its just a matter of who media wants to slander today.