Electric Honda - Business Idea???

[hypermiler01]

An idea I have had, wonder if it would be feasible to open a little shop doing nothing but buying up late model Hondas and dropping electric powertrains into them? Is anyone already doing something like this? If so, are you hiring? If not, would it be a good idea?

[Automcdonough]

I'm hoping to do such a thing in Cleveland. Not competing with new cars though.

[hypermiler01]

No, it wouldn't be competing with new cars. I figure a basic model could be offered in the $10,000 area, with extra options available such as greater range or performance.

[Automcdonough]

Good luck, I'm having a hell of a time putting together a decent conversion for $10k and that does not include labor or the donor car. But that is my goal.. customer drops off car and $10k and picks it up later as an EV. It's a lot of money, def a hard sell. Customers I expect would be enthusiasts working on classics or other cars which would not ever be commercially sold in our lifetimes.

My personal conversion is going under budget so far, but that is through heavy use of ebay and craigslist, then on to DIY motor controllers and whatnot. Not a good strategy for business, gotta be able to to just bulk buy some part inventory. Some of this DIY stuff I'm considering jumping into the mfg arena to sell to DIY'ers out there as some of this stuff is being sold for waaaay too much $$. They're killing us here.

[Ryland]

If you keep an eye on Ebay you will notice people trying to do this, I have yet to see one sell but they are out there, what are selling are the electric cars that are already built that people can buy for a lower price then it would cost them to buy the parts and even those are slow to sell at times.
Selling electric cars is hard because to many people saw Who Killed The Electric Car and they all now think that they can't have one, I've bee trying to sell my Citi-Car (factory built electric car) for a month now and have had a few people ask about it but no one wants to even come look at it.

[gasman]

Just curious... what are your planned core competencies? Can you post a partial outline of your SWOT analysis?

Well, one of the first things you learn in any introductory entrepreneurship course is that you should never, ever, start a business (or invest in one) just because you like the idea. It has to be first a good business decision, and secondly something you are willing and able (financially, ethically, etc.) to put your money behind. When you work backwards (like you are implying you are doing) you should be careful not to lose sight of that first requirement. Many do. When they do, they lose their business and they can ruin much of the rest of their life with debt.

This post shows that you are actively doing research before hand, which is a good sign. Just make sure you research it very thoroughly, and have a complete business plan written out (avoiding any significant assumptions) that proves the practicality before you make a decision. They are essential. Yeah, it takes a lot of time to invest in painstakingly planning out several hundred pages of technical data, but if you don't do it your business will fail, even if it had merit to begin with. If it takes anything less than several months of research and writing to make a decision, you've done something terribly wrong. Since the beginning of the recession, this has never been more true.

At face value, your idea doesn't seem practical. But if you do really want to do it, make sure your do the research. Maybe we would all be pleasantly surprised by your findings? I'm not trying to discourage you, btw. I'm just letting you know a little bit of what's involved, and how big of an undertaking this really is.

[gone-ot]

...business "model" suggestion: start out as a "conversion" business, then as your reputation and visibility grow, transition into the full-scale 'refurbished/renewed' EV sales.

[hypermiler01]

gasman, you are talking about some completely different kind of business than I am thinking of.

I am talking about putting a max $20,000 into a car, jigs, and welding equipment, building one in my own garage, selling it, and building another.

Every one would be converted the same way with a single formula and two or three options, which is why I would stick to Hondas exclusively, and set up deals with suppliers.

The result would be something like this:
Bob Bath's 1992 Honda Civic DX Sedan

[gasman]

What I said applies to all businesses. every last one. And, yes, even yours.

Unless you are planning on building $20k paperweights, or selling $20k plus time and other costs into a vehicle, only to sell it for $5k, anyway. I've seen many such "business models" go awry... again, even if they have face merit, the investors fall short if they lack planning. For example, you're not likely to set up "deals with suppliers" when you are only buying 1-6 parts per year.

I'm really not trying to be rude, I'm just pointing out some things. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, though, as doing so might make you think that such considerations are optional.

I'll give you a head start. One "acid test" for such ideas (though obviously not 100% reliable) is a simple question: If you were offered what you are planning to offer, for what you are planning to offer, would you (honestly) buy your product over others, from someone like yourself? Remember, your little statement about "not competing with new cars" is exactly the opposite of reality. In fact, you would be directly competing with new cars.

[hypermiler01]

gasman, how many months of feasibility studies would you recommend that it takes to run a successful bake sale, or a tire shop, or a cafe?

Will you tell me what your core competency is? Did you make a SWOT analysis chart before you chose your major, and do people pay you for this?

From your post, I get the impression that you went to business school, but I can't tell if you actually know a single thing about the electrical conversion business, or auto repair, or really anything at all that has to do with running a Mom and Pop shop.

Starting out as a conversion business is what a lot of other people have done, and it is grossly inefficient. It takes a lot of time fit a system into one of these and one of those.

I would be duplicating in volume what has already been successfully done, with a streamlined production process, rather than a random mixture of one-offs.

It is possible to build a nice EV at less than half the price that the new automakers will be offering.