[yosemitesamiam]

Leaf doesn't have 8 seats

[Jin Kazama]

If you were worried the leaf was going to be the end of DIY EV conversions, what about the Renault zoe (Nissan is part of Renault).

It's 15000 EUR in most of Europe (20000 - 5000 EUR bonus for anyone), it has a 130 miles range (real range will be around 100 miles, which is better than the 60-70 miles of the leaf) a 135km/h top speed (84mph) and is compatible with quick drop and 3 phases fast charging (30min for 80%, 1h for 100% with extremely cheap and simple plug(no electronics))

The catch?: The 24KWh battery is leased (starting at 80 EUR/month).

I'm getting one in September, at current Lithium battery prices, the leasing is pretty cheap but as batteries prices decrease I think a DIY battery will do wonders (lower price and/or increased capacity)

If I look in the french EV market, there is quite a few used 10 years old EV for sale without batteries (such as the Peugot 106 Electrique, Citroen Saxo EV, Renault Kangoo EV...) - the battery were leased back then (for ~120-150 EUR/month) and the range was pretty bad (~50 miles) - for a DIYer, such a car is great as the only thing you have to worry about is the battery, everything else work. Those car were not using lithium batteries at the time so I'm pretty sure you could get a 70-90miles range just upgrading to li-x!

I think those "new" cars will enable DIYer to do wonders (especially with new EV specific parts being available); I don't think this is the end but more like a new beginning

[Bicka]

Originally Posted by Davetheliftie

Much the same pricing structure in Australia

Leaf
Nissan LEAF will hit Australian showrooms in June 2012 with a manufacturer’s recommended price of $51,500.

Volt
Other launch markets provide a good directional guide to what [the Holden Volt] will cost in Australia, though it’s expected that the local pricing will be closer to the circa-$58,000 of the Opel version in Europe (called Ampera) rather than the Chevrolet-badged Volt sold in the US for about $40,000

i-MiEV
Sales for fleet customers began in Australia in August 2010 under leasing agreement at a price of A$1,740 a month for 36 months, for a cumulative total of A$62,640 after which the car has to be returned to the dealer

Price Gouging
http://afr.com/p/technology/apple_co_founder_slams_price_gouging_AGNfTQl88InuN YGBw8Hf7N


Sucks how we get unrealistically Screwed Over when it comes to the price of stuff in Australia. Our Dollar is worth more than the USD too!

Enough rant, lol. But on topic. I agree that DIY will always be an area of interest for enthusiasts. Off the Shelf just allows people who like the concept but are not able to DIY (lack of skill/Patience/Knowledge/Time etc.) to have a tried and true, warranty backed mass produced EV.

I saw all power to them, mass production generally drives down costs and advances technology so I think it will be a good thing for batteries and other components going forward.

Also, spare parts will probably become available to the DIY EV community.

[CrazyAl]

Someone I know in Canberra (Australia) rang the Mitsubishi dealer and asked why the i-MiEV was $22k+ (I can't remember the exact price difference, but for argument's sake, I'll use $22k+) more in Australia than in USA. Does postage cost $22k+?

It's probably called the "Australia tax", which is not even levied by any government in Australia that causes these stupid price gouges.
There was a senate inquiry a few weeks ago about this in relation to downloadable software and the price hikes we have to pay just for living in Australia.

In relation to DIY EV conversions, I believe it will grow stronger into the future. If more commercially produced EVs come to the market, then when those cars get written off, we can get parts out of them :-)
If more commercially produced EVs don't come to market, then we will get parts from our usual sources.

Also, motorsport will increase demand for DIY EVs.
Many in motorsport are interested in getting into EV motorsport as they believe that for motorsport to be sustainable, we have to go electric. I've had team owners and racers talk to me about going electric and wanting to do it.

Also, the hot rod, street rod and modified car scene will fuel DIY EVs.

At Summernats earlier this year, I had a lot of interest from people when I displayed my Electric Go Kart. Many were interested in building Electric Muscle cars and dragsters. Someone even did a write up on performance forum about my go kart after seeing it at Summernats.

[njloof]

Until I can buy a production convertible EV, I'll be working on my Miata conversion

[albo2]

Man you can't buy a production EV in NZ for under 60k that's right 3 times what you can buy one for in the states, we really get screwed our dollar is less we get paid less our govt just wants to dig for coal and oil, no incentives here in good old clean green NZ.

[dragonsgate]

DIY electric cars are another form of Hot Rodding. Men that would have been called geeks if the word had been coined at the time tinkered with electric cars in the 1800’s and got a pretty good foothold and then men started tinkering with gas engines and finally beat out the electric by 1915. During that time car companies emerged some of them started by tinkerers themselves and yet other men kept tearing down and rebuilding cars with parts from the car companies and racing them. (There are guys on this forum just waiting for the time they can snag a used or wrecked leaf for the parts) Many of the designs of tinkerers were either bought or stolen by car companies in the first place. After WWII guys started converging on the Bonneville Salt Flats to see what their jalopies would do. They called those jalopies Hot Rods. In the 60’s and 70’s Detroit built muscle cars many of them inspired by what was going on in private garages. (Many of the garage owners bought Detroit iron so it will be no different if a DIY’er buys a new Leaf) Believe it or not while all this was going on there were still a few Geeks messing with electric cars. With coming of the gas crunches DIY electrics started being noticed. They were a novelty to the largest part of the public but the electric cars were being noticed by car companies. Now we are in the thick of it and car companies are testing the market. I think Do It Yourself electric car (Hot Rodders) have played a key part in the movement as in years past. I also think that as new production EV’s hit the market their will still be electric Hot rods and geeks that build them. If the economy doesn’t completely go down the toilet there will also be car companies that buy or steal the ideas of those builders and sell them to the rest of the world as a factory built electric cars.

[CrazyAl]

Originally Posted by albo2

Man you can't buy a production EV in NZ for under 60k that's right 3 times what you can buy one for in the states, we really get screwed our dollar is less we get paid less our govt just wants to dig for coal and oil, no incentives here in good old clean green NZ.

We get screwed in Australia as well. We have what is called the "Australia tax" - a tax not even levied by governments, but rather some big corporations. Even downloadable software attracts a higher price if you live in Australia, despite the product being the same as the product delivered to US & Canadian residents. I think there was a senate inquiry about this price disparity of downloadable software in Australia.

I believe this "Australia tax" will see its days numbered as a lot of Australians have become aware of this. Even the Government and politicians don't like it.

Also, many astute people have even held off buying luxury cars. They see how much cheaper it is in the US and are now waiting for prices in Australia to adjust. Many are expecting dramatic price drops in the near future.

Co-incidentally, many luxury car prices have seen price drops of over 25% in the last quarter of 2011 and they are still dropping. Some dealers have gone broke.

[Jason Lattimer]

A little late to the conversation, but as may have already been stated, production EVs will no more end DIYs than new Camaros ended the restoration of classic Camaros.