As Tesla goes mainstream, luxury carmakers plan rivals
Tesla’s Model three is perhaps the most desired electrical vehicle in history, with a waiting list that spreads more than a year.
But competition could embark to fever up relatively soon, according to one analyst.
For now, Tesla seems to be in a class of its own, and likes a considerable lead over competitors. It has no rivals in the high-end electrified car segment, and enthusiasm for the Model Three, based on reservations, has far outpaced the interest in similarly priced electrified cars. These include the already available Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan Leaf.
But Tesla will face a bevy of competitors in the next few years, especially among high end carmakers with strong brands of their own, said Barclays analyst Brian Johnson, who has been a consistent skeptic of the California electrical car maker and renewable energy company, even however Tesla stock has risen more than fifty percent this year alone.
“We can just hear the Tesla fans protestations to the volume of competitor launches – most of those are mass market cars, and many are compliance cars — and hence not appealing to the status-conscious Tesla target segment,” Johnson said in his note to clients on Friday.
Recently, Barclays hosted a powertrain conference in London, where several high-end auto companies displayed off their planned electrified offerings.
From what he witnessed there, along with latest announcements from manufacturers, Johnson said legacy luxury automakers will begin a launch cadence in two thousand nineteen that will distribute a broad selection of electrified vehicles across several brands by 2021.
“In particular at our conference, we were affected by Mercedes’ plans for the EQ brand as a standalone platform for EVs from inception,” Johnson said. “We think Mercedes’ strategy will stand them in good stead in the long run.”
He added that BMW will produce early electrified vehicles on existing architectures, but will also develop a standalone platform as it builds scale. He expects Mercedes and BMW to have four models each, and Volkswagen to have seven — three from Audi, two from Porsche and one Bentley.
Maserati, Jaguar and Aston Martin are each expected to have one model.
Whether any of these will be able to truly challenge Tesla remains to be seen. But each could conceivably take significant slices out of the market share Tesla all but controls now.
Johnson also thinks, along with many others, that China will be the key growth market for electrical vehicles over the next several years, and Tesla is at a fine disadvantage to Chinese makers who all but predominate the Chinese market.
Tesla’s Model S and X cars challenge with nineteen Chinese electrified vehicle models in that country, by his count. Local regulations favor local companies, and Chinese models typically sell better than Tesla cars, according to his report. Both Daimler and GM have plans to source battery cells in China as well.
Still, some analysts have voiced skepticism that traditional auto companies pose a fine threat to Tesla. Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas, for example, said in a note published in April that traditional automakers tend to profit more from cars with internal combustion engines, and was doubtful that shareholders would prize companies for pursuing “money-losing electrics.”
Jonas said that Tesla’s true competitors may end up being tech companies instead.
To be sure, Tesla has a considerable lead on competitors and has a strong brand. So far the company has had the high-end electrical vehicle market to itself.
The company proved that electrified cars could suggest luxury and high spectacle and be very desirable to consumers. They are now aiming to prove that they can also suggest at least some of that spectacle and design at a lower price.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has at times encouraged other companies to make electrified cars. In 2014, Tesla released all the patents it held at the time “in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electrified vehicle technology,” Musk said in a blog post.
The market for electrified cars is still tiny—only about one percent of all cars sold. It is likely about to become fairly a bit more crowded.
Tesla was not instantaneously available for comment.
As Tesla goes mainstream, luxury carmakers plan rivals
As Tesla goes mainstream, luxury carmakers plan rivals
Tesla’s Model three is perhaps the most desired electrified vehicle in history, with a waiting list that spreads more than a year.
But competition could commence to fever up relatively soon, according to one analyst.
For now, Tesla seems to be in a class of its own, and likes a considerable lead over competitors. It has no rivals in the high-end electrified car segment, and enthusiasm for the Model Three, based on reservations, has far outpaced the interest in similarly priced electrical cars. These include the already available Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan Leaf.
But Tesla will face a bevy of competitors in the next few years, especially among high end carmakers with strong brands of their own, said Barclays analyst Brian Johnson, who has been a consistent skeptic of the California electrified car maker and renewable energy company, even however Tesla stock has risen more than fifty percent this year alone.
“We can just hear the Tesla fans protestations to the volume of competitor launches – most of those are mass market cars, and many are compliance cars — and hence not appealing to the status-conscious Tesla target segment,” Johnson said in his note to clients on Friday.
Recently, Barclays hosted a powertrain conference in London, where several high-end auto companies demonstrated off their planned electrical offerings.
From what he witnessed there, along with latest announcements from manufacturers, Johnson said legacy luxury automakers will begin a launch cadence in two thousand nineteen that will distribute a broad selection of electrical vehicles across several brands by 2021.
“In particular at our conference, we were amazed by Mercedes’ plans for the EQ brand as a standalone platform for EVs from inception,” Johnson said. “We think Mercedes’ strategy will stand them in good stead in the long run.”
He added that BMW will produce early electrified vehicles on existing architectures, but will also develop a standalone platform as it builds scale. He expects Mercedes and BMW to have four models each, and Volkswagen to have seven — three from Audi, two from Porsche and one Bentley.
Maserati, Jaguar and Aston Martin are each expected to have one model.
Whether any of these will be able to truly challenge Tesla remains to be seen. But each could conceivably take significant slices out of the market share Tesla all but controls now.
Johnson also thinks, along with many others, that China will be the key growth market for electrified vehicles over the next several years, and Tesla is at a good disadvantage to Chinese makers who all but predominate the Chinese market.
Tesla’s Model S and X cars challenge with nineteen Chinese electrical vehicle models in that country, by his count. Local regulations favor local companies, and Chinese models typically sell better than Tesla cars, according to his report. Both Daimler and GM have plans to source battery cells in China as well.
Still, some analysts have voiced skepticism that traditional auto companies pose a good threat to Tesla. Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas, for example, said in a note published in April that traditional automakers tend to profit more from cars with internal combustion engines, and was doubtful that shareholders would prize companies for pursuing “money-losing electrics.”
Jonas said that Tesla’s true competitors may end up being tech companies instead.
To be sure, Tesla has a considerable lead on competitors and has a strong brand. So far the company has had the high-end electrical vehicle market to itself.
The company proved that electrical cars could suggest luxury and high spectacle and be very desirable to consumers. They are now aiming to prove that they can also suggest at least some of that spectacle and design at a lower price.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has at times encouraged other companies to make electrified cars. In 2014, Tesla released all the patents it held at the time “in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electrified vehicle technology,” Musk said in a blog post.
The market for electrified cars is still tiny—only about one percent of all cars sold. It is likely about to become fairly a bit more crowded.
Tesla was not instantaneously available for comment.