Wardsauto John McElroy on EV startups

Discussion in 'Tesla' started by bwilson4web, Feb 20, 2019.

To remove this ad click here.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Source: https://www.wardsauto.com/ideaxchange/ev-startups-better-bring-something-new-party?NL=WAW-04&Issue=WAW-04_20190220_WAW-04_565&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1&utm_rid=CPENT000000095975&utm_campaign=23340&utm_medium=email&elq2=8b22c8555b9f4d54b7c55c7520faa8fc

    What all these newcomers will discover, whether in China or elsewhere, is that making cars is hard and the automotive industry is brutally competitive. Just because you can design, engineer and manufacture vehicles doesn’t mean you’re going to survive. In fact, bringing a car or SUV to market is the easy part. Then you must start sweating bullets about getting customers to show up every day, generating enough cash to develop your next generation of models and holding onto enough money to post a profit.

    Too many of the EV startups have a “build it and they will come” mentality. They’re all wide-eyed over Tesla’s success and believe they can do the same thing. But some of them, like Fisker (now Karma) and Faraday, are starting to look like moths drawn to a candle. A lot of these startups will go down in flames.
    . . .
    Tesla is succeeding because it brought several new things to the party. It isn’t just styling, Ludicrous Mode and the EV public’s adulation of Elon Musk that helped Tesla sell so many cars. It’s because Tesla is using different batteries than anyone else – batteries which are made in higher volume and at lower cost than what others are using. And thanks to its proprietary battery management system its cars have longer range and charge faster.

    Tesla’s electronics and electronic architecture are light-years ahead of everyone else. It offers over the air (OTA) updates for its cars that no other automaker has matched, even though Tesla has been doing this since 2012. In fact, this is a key reason why Tesla has such satisfied customers, even though the Model S has only undergone one minor facelift in 8 years. Every year their cars get better thanks to those OTA updates.

    And Tesla completely broke the rules of the game by bypassing the dealer franchise system and selling cars directly to consumers. Even though Tesla is banned from selling cars in several states, and is severely limited in many other states, it outsold many well-established brands in the U.S. last year.
    . . .

    Bob Wilson
     
  2. To remove this ad click here.

Share This Page