AZEqualizer
01-19-2008, 07:47 PM
AutoblogGreen Q&A: Malcolm Bricklin talks about building a PHEV supply base (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/19/detroit-2008-autobloggreen-qanda-malcolm-bricklin-talks-about-bu/)
Malcolm Bricklin: Actually, we are using the vehicle only as a way to sign up the dealers. But to truth of the matter is what we are really doing is trying to set up the infrastructure for electric vehicles and electric hybrid plug-ins. What we are doing is we are designing a vehicle as you can see right over there, which is going to be the size of a Mercedes S about the width of a Lamborghini that will get 100 miles to the gallon and sell for 40 grand. That, we think, will dispel everybody's thoughts that you can't build a big car and use electricity and get great gas miles and still sell at a decent price.
So that was our purpose, but the real purpose is to be able go to the dealers and say look; Here is what we have to sell to begin with and we are going to give a new product every year on that platform. But more important than that, we are going to do two things that we believe the industry needs or there is not going to be an industry. That is outside of the Big Three, if you are going to build electric or electric hybrid, you have got to find a way to distribute it and you have got to find a way to bring the component prices down. In order to bring the component prices down, if you are the Big Three you subsidize it. But if you are a little guy you can't subsidize it, which means that a lot of cars are going to come in to market for $100,000 and although they may be a nice value at $100,000 there is not a big market for $100,000 cars. We think the market is under $50,000, under $40,000 and of course if we get down to $30,000 then we really think that the market is going to open up.
ABG: Sure, the lower you can go then obviously more people will buy that.
MB: There is only way to do that and that is to get the component prices at the right price. In order to get the batteries and the motors and the engines at the right price, you need somebody to come in and order them, it is that simple. What our program is, is going out and setting up 250 of the best dealers in the country and they will give us each an order of 1,000 vehicles, giving me a quarter of a million vehicles, giving me letters of credit so I can go to my various suppliers and say OK, like for instance we just announced today we made a deal with Electrovaya (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/13/detroit-2008-bricklin-and-electrovaya-team-on-phev-battery-syst/) to be our battery supplier and we will go to them say, "What does it take to bring the prices down so that we can be competitive?" and we've made that deal. We will manufacture at these quantities, but we are going to offer the same components that we are using to anybody who wants to get in the business so the Teslas and the Phoenixes, and Fiskers. You name it, whoever is in the industry that wants to buy these components at the right price could come to us and say, OK, we want to buy those things and for roughly 10 percent more than what we are paying for that we will provide them. Once they do, we will then offer them the opportunity to go through our distribution network, which will include 250 dealers in the United States and we are setting up distributors in every country of the world. So it will be instantaneous distribution for everybody in the electric or electric hybrid plug in business, which uses our components.
This is just an excerpt... read the full article over at autobloggreen.com (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/19/detroit-2008-autobloggreen-qanda-malcolm-bricklin-talks-about-bu/)
Malcolm Bricklin: Actually, we are using the vehicle only as a way to sign up the dealers. But to truth of the matter is what we are really doing is trying to set up the infrastructure for electric vehicles and electric hybrid plug-ins. What we are doing is we are designing a vehicle as you can see right over there, which is going to be the size of a Mercedes S about the width of a Lamborghini that will get 100 miles to the gallon and sell for 40 grand. That, we think, will dispel everybody's thoughts that you can't build a big car and use electricity and get great gas miles and still sell at a decent price.
So that was our purpose, but the real purpose is to be able go to the dealers and say look; Here is what we have to sell to begin with and we are going to give a new product every year on that platform. But more important than that, we are going to do two things that we believe the industry needs or there is not going to be an industry. That is outside of the Big Three, if you are going to build electric or electric hybrid, you have got to find a way to distribute it and you have got to find a way to bring the component prices down. In order to bring the component prices down, if you are the Big Three you subsidize it. But if you are a little guy you can't subsidize it, which means that a lot of cars are going to come in to market for $100,000 and although they may be a nice value at $100,000 there is not a big market for $100,000 cars. We think the market is under $50,000, under $40,000 and of course if we get down to $30,000 then we really think that the market is going to open up.
ABG: Sure, the lower you can go then obviously more people will buy that.
MB: There is only way to do that and that is to get the component prices at the right price. In order to get the batteries and the motors and the engines at the right price, you need somebody to come in and order them, it is that simple. What our program is, is going out and setting up 250 of the best dealers in the country and they will give us each an order of 1,000 vehicles, giving me a quarter of a million vehicles, giving me letters of credit so I can go to my various suppliers and say OK, like for instance we just announced today we made a deal with Electrovaya (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/13/detroit-2008-bricklin-and-electrovaya-team-on-phev-battery-syst/) to be our battery supplier and we will go to them say, "What does it take to bring the prices down so that we can be competitive?" and we've made that deal. We will manufacture at these quantities, but we are going to offer the same components that we are using to anybody who wants to get in the business so the Teslas and the Phoenixes, and Fiskers. You name it, whoever is in the industry that wants to buy these components at the right price could come to us and say, OK, we want to buy those things and for roughly 10 percent more than what we are paying for that we will provide them. Once they do, we will then offer them the opportunity to go through our distribution network, which will include 250 dealers in the United States and we are setting up distributors in every country of the world. So it will be instantaneous distribution for everybody in the electric or electric hybrid plug in business, which uses our components.
This is just an excerpt... read the full article over at autobloggreen.com (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/19/detroit-2008-autobloggreen-qanda-malcolm-bricklin-talks-about-bu/)