Several major automakers are making big
bets on the electric vehicle
market. But so far, the U.S.
E.V. market seems to belong to
one automaker, Tesla, of the 246,000
new electric vehicles sold in the
United States in 2019 .
Nearly 194,000 were Tesla's of
one kind or another.
That is more than three times
the amount sold by all other
manufacturers combined.
The Tesla Model Three sold
nearly 160,000 units alone.
No other vehicle from any
other manufacturer came close.
The next biggest seller was the
Chevrolet Bolt, which sold roughly
16,400 units a fraction of
the Model Three's volume.
Investing in Tesla is said to not
be for the faint of heart.
But as the automaker has managed to
get a handle on production of its
model, three introduce other models and
expand its presence in China.
Its stock has climbed, hitting new
highs above $900 in February 2020.
For years s keptics have warned
of a tsunami of competitors coming
for the pioneering electric car brand
and starting in just a few
months and really accelerating next
year and into 2018.
It's just going to be swarmed
with long range electric car
competition. Still, Tesla.
A Few vehicles have been released so
far, but sales indicate that any
one of them has failed to make
a significant dent in Tesla's share of
the E.V. market. So far, the
Tesla killers haven't really killed
Tesla at all, but more rivals are
coming and they are being launched
by massive automakers who have been
making cars for a long time.
So who are they and how much
of a chance do they have?
First, it helps to look
at what they're up against.
Analysts and industry watchers debate the
reasons why Tesla is so
dominant in EVs.
There are a few
clear ones on paper.
First of all, Tesla's have some of
the best ranges available of all
electric cars on the market.
And Tesla's biggest seller, the Model
3, starts at about $39,000 ,
not far from the average price of
a new vehicle in the US.
Tesla's have also garnered praise
for their innovative design, both
on the outside and the inside.
But there are criticisms of Tesla, as
well as a relatively small and
young automaker. Tesla has
been plagued by manufacturing
difficulties, which has left hopeful buyers
waiting a long time for
reserved vehicles.
Veteran competitors have even used
their manufacturing experience as
a selling point when marketing
their own electric models, telling
customers they won't have to wait
for a newly unveiled vehicle.
Tesla customers have also complained
about troubles, obtaining parts
and service. Tesla's success seems to
defy the odds in other ways.
Out of the three models it
currently sells to are traditional sedans
in a market that has
been increasingly favoring sport utility
vehicles since the U.S.
economy emerged from
the Great Recession.
Its only SUV available so far.
The Model X carries a
very high end price tag.
But Tesla fans, loyalists and would
be buyers are so far undeterred.
The company seems to attract a
lot of hype and attention.
Many industry watchers say that much
of what sells Tesla cars is
Tesla itself, as well as
its charismatic, if often controversial
leader Elon Musk.
Despite gripes about long waits
for service, serial production,
setbacks and criticisms of the
company's build, quality buyers still
seem to want to be
part of the Tesla vision.
The renowned industry reviewer Consumer
Reports, has both praised and
criticized Tesla vehicles, but it says
the brand seems to have
something special, no one else
has been able to capture.
Well, I think that's exactly it.
I mean, think a lot of interest
in Tesla more so the fact that
they're looking for
an electric car.
So the fact that Tesla is the
innovator is the latest thing is the
latest technology.
That is what is so
attractive to so many people.
So the question is, which
brands can compete with Tesla?
Which ones are meant to?
What are potential
Tesla buyers shopping?
On the higher end where
Tesla tends to play?
There are cars such as the Audi E
Tron, the Jaguar I-Pace and the BMW
i3. Porsche began delivering its
long awaited Taycan to U.S.
customers in December.
It's expected to follow that up with
at least one other model, an
electric version of
its Macan crossover.
Mainstream electric vehicles include the
Chevrolet Bolt, the Honda
Clarity Electric, a couple cars from
Hyundai the Kia Niro the long
selling Nissan Leaf and Leaf
Plus and the Volkswagen E-Golf.
There are several others scheduled for
release starting in 2020 from
major brands, especially in the premium
segments and near the higher
end of the mainstream market
where Tesla currently competes.
Ford unveiled its Mustang Mach E.
in November, 2019.
The company expects to begin deliveries in
late 2020 and said it has
already reached its order limit for
a first edition version of the
vehicle. Despite what some have called
a muted response to its
E-Tron, Audi is planning more
E-Tron variants, including a midsize
SUV called the Q4 E-Tron, a high
performance GT and a sport back
version. BMW is expected to launch the
i4 a more sport focused car
for its electric i brand, whereas the i3
was more of a small city car
that even elicited some
derision from BMW purists.
The i4 comes with 523 horsepower.
BMW's Mini Cooper brand will supply the
city car the Mini Cooper s e
expected in early 2020.
Mercedes Benz parent Daimler said in
December it would delay the U.S.
launch of its EQC
electric crossover until 2021.
About a year after its originally
intended launch time in early 2020,
a more sedan like car called
the EQS is also expected.
Smaller luxury brands are pushing into
electric vehicles in the near
future as well.
Jaguar is planning an electric version of
its XJ sedan and Volvo is
working on an electric XC40 Compact SUV
as well as a high performance
crossover through its
sister brand Polestar.
Automotive colossus Volkswagen is throwing
its weight behind electric
vehicles apart from its
higher end products.
Under Porsche, Audi and other brands,
the German giant is planning
several Volkswagen branded EVs, including
a crossover called the ID
Crozz and a revival of the legendary
VW bus called the ID Buzz.
Then there are the smaller brands
and startups such as Bollinger,
Lordstown, Lucid and the
troubled Faraday Future.
Many, many such vehicles are planned,
including several in a very
American segment electric vehicle manufacturers
so far have barely
touched pickup trucks.
Tesla introduced perhaps its most
ambitious and polarizing design yet
in 2019.
The cyber truck this puts the
company at least technically, squarely
in competition with pickups segment
heavyweights such as Ford, Fiat
Chrysler, and General Motors.
Truck sales in the U.S.
are dominated by Detroit.
Ford has said it plans to release
a fully electric version of its
best selling F-Series
full-size pickup.
General Motors plans to revive its
once potent Hummer brand name as
an all electric vehicle.
GM said at the end of
January 2020, it will spend $2.2
billion at its Detroit Hamtramck
assembly plant to produce several
all electric trucks and SUVs
to build a new generation of
electric pickup trucks, SUVs, and other
EVs, beginning late just
this next year,.
Buzzed about startup revision is working
on its own electric pickup
truck. The R1 T is slated for
release along with a similar sized
sport utility vehicle in 2020.
Rivian is promising 400 miles of range
on a single charge, a wading
depth of more than three feet and
zero to 60 acceleration in three
seconds. Ford invested $500 million in
the startup in 2019 and plans
to release an SUV bearing its luxury
Lincoln badge that is based on
technology developed by Rivian.
Meanwhile, Tesla's cyber truck design
seems to baffle some industry
watchers. Some investors have called
it weird, really weird.
Musk defended the truck's polarizing
design on a conference call
after the automaker released earnings for
the fourth quarter of 2019.
For the cyber track.
A few months ago, we revealed th e
cyber truck that went viral and we
tried to build a product that is
superior in every way without any
preconceptions of how such
a product should look.
So it really just from a standpoint
of what's the most bad ass
futuristic armored personnel carrier that, you
know, kicks the ass of
any pickup truck? Basically,
that's the goal.
And we wanted to look like something
that just came out of a sci-fi
movie set from the future.
On the same call, Musk said
Tesla's demand exceeds what the company
can produce over three
or four years.
We've never seen actually such a
level of demand at this.
We've never seen anything
like it. Basically.
I think we will make us about as
many as we can sell for many years.
So sell as many as we can make.
It's going to be pretty nuts.
So and I think actually that
the product is better than people
realize, even though they don't
even have enough information to
realize, just the
awesomeness of it.
It's just great.
Industry watchers say that the move
into trucks is another way for
automakers to try to make the
best of a difficult situation.
Both investor excitement over
Tesla and increasing regulatory
pressure are forcing legacy automakers to
come up with some kind of
electric vehicle plan.
But it is commonly thought that electric
vehicles are so far still a
tough sell for many buyers.
EVs remain a tiny slice of the U.S.
auto market and are heavily
concentrated in states such as
California, where high fuel
prices, government policies and
incentives and perhaps a dash of
culture all contribute to higher
electric vehicle sales.
EV demand in the U.S.
market has been pretty
modest through the years.
Consider that it took an entire
human generation for 44 alternative
energy models combined to achieve one half
of the market share of the
Ford F-Series pickup.
The best selling pickup
in the United States.
Around the world, it seems
the healthiest electric vehicle markets
are supported heavily
by government intervention.
The largest car market in the world,
China is also the largest market
for electric vehicles.
Tesla surprised The automotive world, by
being the first foreign car
company to gain permission to
manufacture in the country without
partnering with a Chinese firm,
electric vehicle sales were growing
in China until the government
cut subsidies for battery electric
vehicles. In June of 2019, sales
began falling that next July.
Just weeks later, while early
electric and hybrid vehicles were
sedans and compact cars, newer
models are increasingly sport utility
vehicles and pickups, areas of the
auto market that have grown
tremendously in demand over
the last decade.
There are also vehicles customers are
willing to pay more for
compared with similarly
sized passenger cars.
That combination suggests automakers will
have an easier time moving
them off the lot and absorbing
the high costs of electric vehicle
technology. But they will still have to
find a way to challenge the
awesome brand power and cult
like following Tesla has achieved.
