JPWhite
Member
Took a test drive of the Outlander PHEV this weekend. Very nice car. I was running the numbers to figure out if I'm going to purchase or not and it occured to me that Mitsubishi only get $5800 or so in Federal tax credit due to the 12kWh battery. A 16kWh battery would get the full $7,500 credit.
If we assume $200/kWh cost which I think is conservative, (Nissan and Tesla are closer to $150 or lower) that would add just $800 extra cost while getting an extra $1,700 in federal tax incentive. Essentially the car would be almost $1,000 cheaper to the consumer and be better, pushing the electric range beyond the average daily commute.
Battery density has improved in the last 4-5 years, so there should be no problem fitting 16 kWh into the same space as the 12 kWh did 4-5 years ago.
Mitsubishi are leaving $1,700 tax credit on the table with each unit sold. A bigger battery for the US version seems so obvious, at least to me. What say you?
If we assume $200/kWh cost which I think is conservative, (Nissan and Tesla are closer to $150 or lower) that would add just $800 extra cost while getting an extra $1,700 in federal tax incentive. Essentially the car would be almost $1,000 cheaper to the consumer and be better, pushing the electric range beyond the average daily commute.
Battery density has improved in the last 4-5 years, so there should be no problem fitting 16 kWh into the same space as the 12 kWh did 4-5 years ago.
Mitsubishi are leaving $1,700 tax credit on the table with each unit sold. A bigger battery for the US version seems so obvious, at least to me. What say you?