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Daimler CEO says nobody is making money on EVs right now

What do you charge for a vehicle you're going to lose money on? If you're Mercedes-Benz and the vehicle in question is the B-Class Electric Drive, you offer it for lease for just 399 euros ($498) a month with a down payment of 8,473 euros ($10,582). If Daimler was going to price it honestly, it seems, the number would have to be a lot higher. "Nobody today is making a battery-powered vehicle that's economically viable." – Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche That's according to Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, who spoke to reporters in Spain recently and said that, "You can reasonably say that nobody today is making a battery-powered vehicle that's economically viable in its own right. Manufacturers will not see a return within a reasonable time on the billions they're investing now." There are ways to make money in EVs, of course. Just ask Daimler, which recently sold its stake in Tesla for a cool $780 million. Zetsche has some EV-critical company in executives like Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, who has said his company loses over $10,000 on each Fiat 500E it sells. Other automakers – e.g., Tesla, Nissan – are much more positive about their financial bet on EVs, but no one is opening all their books to the public to prove this. Tesla, which worked with Mercedes on the B-Class ED, will have an earnings call with investors later today, so perhaps we'll learn something new in a few hours. The B-Class ED lease deal is for 36 months, based on an MSRP of 39,151 euros ($48,895) in Europe, including the 19 percent VAT. You can read more in the press release below. Commercial release of Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive: Local emission-free driving from ˆ399/month Stuttgart, Nov 03, 2014 With its high-torque electric motor, the B-Class Electric Drive delivers lively and superior driving pleasure – with zero local emissions. The B-Class Electric Drive is now available to order, with deliveries set to start before the end of 2014. Prices start at ˆ39,151[1]. The B-Class Electric Drive can be leased through the Mercedes-Benz Bank from ˆ399 a month[2]. Further information on the full range of tailor-made leasing and financing offers as well as specific pricing examples are available at http://www.mercedes-benz-bank.de. Quiet and local emission-free driving is ensured by a 132 kW electric motor, which, as is typical of an electric drive, delivers its maximum torque of 340 Nm right from the start. The result is noticeably powerful acceleration from rest.

Recharge Wrap-up: Ferrock a carbon-negative cement substitute, Audi makes e-diesel

A cement alternative uses recycled materials and traps CO2 rather than producing it. Invented by David Stone at the University of Arizona, Ferrock uses recycled steel dust and glass to produce a substance stronger than conventional concrete. Cement has a high carbon footprint from the high heat needed to process the limestone. Ferrock needs no such heat, and it actually uses CO2 to harden, making it, as Stone calls it, a carbon-negative material. Learn more in the video above, see the transcript at PBS NewsHour and read more at Green Car Reports. Teslarati offers a detailed rundown of Tesla's new Valet Mode feature for the Model S. Part of the Firmware 6.2 update, Valet Mode allows the owner to disable certain performance features and block personal information when letting someone else drive the car. It limits the car's to speed to 70 miles per hour, and caps output at 80 kW. It can also disable mobile app access, Homelink, Bluetooth and wifi and the "Places" function, which stores addresses for you. The folks at Teslarati did find some shortcomings in the new feature, though. Read more at Teslarati. Audi has produced its first batch of e-diesel made from water and CO2. The fuel is made by reacting hydrogen from the water with CO2 to make long-chain hydrocarbon compounds called "blue crude." That can then be refined similarly to crude oil to make e-diesel, which is a fuel free from sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbons. That e-diesel can be used on its own, or mixed with fossil fuel diesel to power a vehicle. "In developing Audi e-diesel we are promoting another fuel based on CO2 that will allow long-distance mobility with virtually no impact on the climate," says Audi Head of Sustainable Product Development Reiner Mangold. Read more in the press release below. Fuel of the future: Research facility in Dresden produces first batch of Audi e-diesel - The verdict: Pilot plant produces high-quality diesel fuel - No need for mineral oil: e-diesel made from water, CO2 and green power - Minister Wanka: "Synthetic diesel using CO2 is a huge success" Audi has taken another big step in the development of new, CO2 neutral fuels: A pilot plant in Dresden has started production of the synthetic fuel Audi e diesel. After a commissioning phase of just four months, the research facility in Dresden started producing its first batches of high-quality diesel fuel a few days ago. To demonstrate its suitability for everyday use, Federal Minister of Education and Research Prof.

Tesla could make 800 Model S EVs a week by late 2014

Tesla continues to impress, with high demand pushing the small, California-based company well beyond its initial projections of 400 Model S EVs per week. According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, "We're above 400 a week at the current manpower, and not trivially above it." If things continue at the current pace, Tesla's Fremont, California factory, former home of the General Motors/Toyota NUMMI facility, will be pumping out 800 cars per week by late 2014.
That number will eventually come to include the Model X SUV and a smaller, more affordable alternative to the Model S. There's even chatter of a compact SUV, according to a story from Bloomberg.
Even if Tesla produces 800 cars per week for an entire year, the company hasn't even approached the maximum capacity of its Fremont factory. The NUMMI facility was producing 500,000 units per year during its glory days. And while that number is still far off for Tesla, Musk claims it'll happen eventually. "We going to have every kind of car you could possibly imagine. If it moves, we'll make it."