Quote:
Originally Posted by xc_SS/RS
Jeeeez that's a lot. I wonder if whoever green lit that one is out of a job now
|
Actually, I think a billion is about the norm these days for an all new vehicle. Can be even higher if its on a unique/heavily rejiggered platform. Cars that require tons of R&D also push the cost up too. I think the 1st gen Volt was in the 1.5 to 2 billion range, for example.
Conversely, if its a fairly simple re-skin of something else (or only relatively a small change from the previous generation), or has a couple basic powertrains the development can be reduced.
Cars are expensive to bring to market. They are the most complicated mass produced things in existence. To produce them you need a fairly large team of specialists working for years, a small fleet of (expensive) prototypes to work the bugs out with, and a bunch of complex tooling/dies to purchase to actually build the thing. It adds up.