Detroit Electric Announces Partnership

Electric vehicles are the future! So says President Obama and just about everyone else. Everyone is working on them and trying to bring them to market. Some are farther then others. Remember hearing about Detroit Electric coming back? Well they have a new announcement out about a partnership with Maylasia's Proton.

The parternship entails Proton producing it's models to be sold with Detroit Electric's powertrain technology. Of any of the startup companies, businesswise this has got to be the smartest way of entering the market that I've seen. Someone at the company has an realistic idea of numbers.

By entering a parternship the company gets the advantages of a low cost production base, existing factories/infastructure and vehicle development costs that have already been paid for.

So if they can achieve the kind of sales they're looking for, it's pretty assured they will turn a nice profit as there should be a good margin on each vehicle.

I'd say on basis of bringing a car to market, this helps give Detroit Electric a leg up significantly on competitors like Miles EV, ZENN and the like. It'll be interesting to see who makes it to market first and who really gets established. Hopefully some strong, new companies will arise out of this to establish themselves as players against the traditional auto manufacturers.

The only one that is really doing that right now in my opinion is Tesla. They've made a name for themselves and crafted a brand, which no one else has done. It's a very key element in the market. So with it's technological prowess, it has established itself as the clear leader in the race. The company has shown developmental abilities akin to a major automaker. It really was the forerunner of this electric revolution.

Tesla is occupying a higher segment of the market though, so they're not very relevant to Detroit Electric right now. Other then Tesla, Detroit Electric looks closest to actually producing something.

It also comes closest to establishing a brand. That's the problem thogh. Detroit Electric? There is nothing "Detroit" about these new cars and I'm not sure that even if there was, it would make much of a difference (espessially with negative feelings surrounding the name Detroit now). You kind of get the downside without the upside in this case.

So does the Detroit Electric resonate with consumers in the U.S and around the world? We'll see, but I think not. I don't particularly like the name. But make no doubt about it, if there's any of the startups positioned to succeed, it's Detroit Electric.

Two models will be offered, e46 and e63. e46 has a range of 110 miles and will sell for around $22k and a 200-mile range model for $30K. Looks like a great value and maybe they can position it as the commuter vehicle used for running errands or going to work.

I'm an electric car fan and while I love electric only vehicles, I still wonder about range anxiety in average Americans. I'm inclined to think that the perfect vehicle for Americans would be a 150-mile range-extended electric vehicle. As for me my perfect vehicle is the Model S, with a gas car as a secondary for long trips.

The potential for analysis here is limitless, with so many factors at play and so many challenges facing the various startups. It'll be telling to see how far the traditional manufacturers go to get into the game as well.

So, my interest is very piqued on how things progress with the company. If it's successful like it hopes to be (30-40,000 units the first year, 250,000 by 2012), that will tell us a LOT about the U.S market and the changing dynamics of the industry.

European debut is slated for a February 2010 debut, with the U.S coming a bit later in Q3 or Q4. A lot is going on now in the world of electric vehicles, it's an exciting time. Hold on!