I saw the Audi etron and I want one. Then it dawned on me that a big selling point to it would be that the whole engin out for everything short of changing wiper blades on an Audi would not be in play any more. This makes an Audi so much more appealing to me..
What other Vehicles would be better as an EV and why.
There is no "people mover" EV yet. Nothing with a third row, even if that third row meant just seating for 6.
Please give us something distinctly "minivan" but EV.
Chrysler Pacifica is a "partial" meaning a few short miles in EV and then ICE because the EV only goes something like 40 miles.
The Toyota Sienna is now hybrid returning 36 mpg in mixed driving but that's as good as it gets.
The model x definitely has a third row option for either 6 or 7 total. IIRC access to the third row area really sucks though.
In reply to dps214 :
Starting price for a Model X right now is $105,000 tho 
Used examples with miles are still $$$
I am surprised it took Rolls Royce this long to announce an EV. Seems like the advantages of EVs fall in line with the ethos of the brand.
Also I would buy a proper electric hot hatch.
Anything that is interesting and has a terrible engine due to reliability/service/hand grenade problem except most of those (RX-8, 996, etc) are lightweight sports cars where the EV swap might ruin what makes them interesting/good.
I would LOVE a true 100% EV minivan with sliding doors and a normal price. I would buy one new, now.
I think a big, ultra-luxury, 2-door GT car would make a great EV as well. Think Mercedes SL, Ferrari 612 Scag, Jag XXR, Maserati GranTourismo, etc. Forget 5-figure engine out services, they already weigh a boatload, and being smooth is a plus.
Oooh, an old (60's-90's) Bentley or Rolls! That would be perfect as an EV!
I always thought the c5 chassis Audi's were pretty cars with an unreliable crappy motor. One of those with power would be a hoot as an interstate bomber.
John Welsh said:There is no "people mover" EV yet. Nothing with a third row, even if that third row meant just seating for 6.
Please give us something distinctly "minivan" but EV.
Chrysler Pacifica is a "partial" meaning a few short miles in EV and then ICE because the EV only goes something like 40 miles.
The Toyota Sienna is now hybrid returning 36 mpg in mixed driving but that's as good as it gets.
Do you think this will fit the bill?
In reply to dyintorace :
That new bus EV has been "coming out soon" for like 9 years. If it ever actually arrives, I'll totally go look at one.
In reply to Javelin :
Totally agree. I'm hoping that the 3/9 date sticks. The VW CEO tweeted it as the reveal date, so confidence level is high.
Just looks like a new Audi. I am not a fan of the rims but that I think could be fixed. I really think Audi is on to somthing with this car.
My 1966 Cadillac. It would be a great EV, all that silent torque. I've got an extra one with a bum motor and spousal sign-off, just waiting for the available tech to catch up with how I want to do it.
In reply to nderwater :
The Model Y is also available with a third row. 17th best selling car in the US in 2021 behind the Accord, apparently, so it's not exactly fringe.
I'd love to see a full on minivan with pure electric power. But honestly, I think the minivan body style might actually be a harder sell than the EV aspect for the school run demographic. That Model Y sold about 185k copies last year, the best selling real minivan (ie, not a three row SUV) was the Chrysler Pacifica at 74k. And if you think that's just the chip shortage, the most it's sold in the last decade and a half is 118k in 2018. So all the people who want to run out to buy a minivan...aren't.
Man, those numbers surprised me when I dug them up.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
To be honest though, minivans have been super behind the times until just this model year. Last to get hybrid tech, last to be updated on chassis, etc. Let's see what the new crop does.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I had no idea they had sold so many of those.
In reply to Javelin :
I looked at sales going back to 2005. The Pacifica just doesn't sell in any real numbers.
Data
The Odyssey did better for a while but it's still been declining pretty badly. The best year of the Odyssey was still less than the Y sales level this past year.
I don't think a bit of fresh tech is going to solve the problem, it's deeper than that. People just don't want minivans anymore, the new family wagon is an SUV. It's a shame because I think they're a well-evolved and focused niche - but I don't want one. And I apparently am not alone in that.
VW's van will be stylish (hopefully) but it may end up selling more to the Transit Connect small business or local delivery demographic than the school run crowd.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Going back doesn't help. The older minivans were terrible. Just as bad or worse mileage than an SUV, no tech at all, and no style.
What's the Kia Carnival doing? The new Sienna Hybrids? The Sprinter diesels? People want luxury, style, economy, and/or utility. A stylish EV minivan (like the VW concept) will sell well.
This:
2000s style train wreck chopper. Hear me out. These things are uncomfortable as berk. Never, ever ment to be ridden long distances. A bar hopper. Range issues with EV would never be an issue, because you want OFF the thing after 50 miles.
No surprise that I like Lotus 7's in all their forms and always thought that the general shape would lend itself to a nice EV conversion. Plenty of room under the bonnet/hood for however many batteries you could cram in there and lots of room in back both above and behind the differential area to position a motor or motors. It's been done and Caterham is talking about it seriously, but a DIY/LoCost version would be so much fun. Unfortunately I'm more of a carburetor/8-track/casette person than fuel injection/ECU/computer guy, so any thought of an EV conversion would be way above my pay grade. What would make me even consider something like this down the road is that I have a chassis & body sitting here at the shop waiting to be built.
In reply to Javelin :
So minivans have been terrible for more than 15 years and are just biding their time? ;)
Kia Sedona (aka. Carnival) - pretty poor and falling like the Odyssey.
Toyota Sienna - about the same arc but higher sales overall. Still has never beat the 2021 Y sales.
I'm not sure I'd call a Sprinter a minivan, I think it's a commercial van. Since 2009 it's been a Freightliner and I don't have those sales figures. The Ram cargo van is the current Dodge equivalent and it's seeing a gradual increase, up to about 60k/year. Sprinters are high visibility for #vanlife reasons but that doesn't translate into big sales volume.
One van styled to reflect past cool is unlikely to totally upset the market.
I agree, the Model Y is/was a game changer. It's the size, shape people want at a "reasonable" price (in a world where the Rav4 is the best selling car.) There is a white Model Y in the school pick up line, driven by a local "hot mom", that I covet in multiple ways.
Also know that in 2018 the newly released Chrysler Pacifica sold 118,322 units but that same year, in the same showroom, was the long standing Dodge Grand Caravan and it sold 151,927 units. Those showrooms moved 270,49 units with Chrysler being the new "upscale" and Dodge being the "old standard."
Agreed, I'd bet 85% of all the Grand Caravans went straight to rental car companies. Dodge could sell that old tech design at super bargain prices to the fleets.
https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/dodge-grand-caravan-sales-figures/
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Yes, actually, and you've helped illustrate the point. The Carnival is selling more than double the Sedona was. The Pacifica took off with it's 16 complete redesign and is surging again with the new hybrid models. The hybrid Sienna is selling triple the older model.
Toyota Tacoma.
In reply to Javelin :
Goodcarbadcar doesn't have sales data for the Kia Carnival, so I don't know how it's selling compared to the small sales volume of the Sedona. The Pacifica definitely bounced briefly with a redesign but sales fell again - and at their peak, they weren't even close to the Y numbers. The hybrid Sienna may be selling triple of the non-hybrid but it's still not setting the market on fire.
All of those minivan sales pale in comparison to SUV sales. Check the sales of the Explorer, for example. If you're an automaker, why would you do a minivan instead of an SUV? The market doesn't seem to want them anymore due to the stigma attached to minivans. More likely we'll see the continued morphing of SUVs into a minivan type package but without the sliding door.
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