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Just for context, 2015 numbers for the US: Tesla - 25,202 units sold; Mercedes - 380,461 units sold Of course not all Mercedes cars are in the same class, but
by martinko 10y ago
Just for context, 2015 numbers for the US:
Tesla - 25,202 units sold;
Mercedes - 380,461 units sold
Of course not all Mercedes cars are in the same class, but it just goes to show that Tesla is still relatively small for now and its captured market share does not necessarily need to have a significant effect on other brands (for now).
- izacus 10y agoThe difference between those numbers will be orders of magnitude larger in other markes - e.g. EU.
- gambiting 10y agoBut the reason for it is that EU countries are giving extremely generous tax breaks for EV buyers. In some countries you literally pay half the price of an Audi A8 for a Tesla, even though they both have the same sticker price. Those benefits are ending in many places too, so while right this second buying a Tesla S might seem like a smart choice financially, it's not going to last forever. Model 3 might change that once again by being positioned in the different part of the market entirely, but it's still long time away.
- patrickk 10y ago> But the reason for it is that EU countries are giving extremely generous tax breaks for EV buyers. All the more reason the German car giants should've been in the game all along. They are just to tied to their internal combustion investments, such as deeply established knowledge about turbos, advanced gearboxes and so on.
- raverbashing 10y agoInnovation in big German companies? It's very slow
- _Codemonkeyism 10y agoBMW sold 2,247,485 (+ Mini) cars in 2015. 100x the numbers of Tesla. And with making money not burning money. I'm not saying Tesla isn't the next thing and car companies shouldn't be afraid. But it's still a far bet.
- flexie 10y agoThey sold 21,934 in the S class, so less than Tesla: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mercedes-benz-usa-reports-highest-year-ever-with-2015-sales-of-380461-300199502.html http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mercedes-benz-usa-re... Your figures include vans etc.
- sgustard 10y agoBenz makes over 50 distinct models, BMW over 40. Tesla has 2 or 3 models and can focus all its attention and expenses on one big thing. It's a classic fast-moving competitor upsetting the dinosaur uber-brands with their huge legacy factories and market base. [Source: https://roadster.com/Mercedes-Benz https://roadster.com/Mercedes-Benz and https://roadster.com/BMW https://roadster.com/BMW]
- kennell 10y agoIt baffles me how German manufacturers continue to put more and more models on the market each year. VW for example is actively offering more than 30 different base models right now, each with 4-6 additional variations. Plus new updates and revisions every year or so. How many choices does a consumer really need? It seems impossible to hit a top price–performance ratio with so much overhead.
- nradov 10y agoThere is not much additional overhead to those extra models. Each manufacturer has only a handful of basic platforms and drive trains. They can come up with a new model by just combining existing components and doing a little further customization. So it's worth doing if it allows them to capture some marginal additional sales.
- blktiger 10y agoSure, that's the traditional analysis, but I think some companies (Apple) are showing that a simpler product line can lead to more sales. Customers are less likely to buy if they have too many options in some cases.
- izacus 10y agoYou're talking about extremely successful global companies - perhaps catering to the needs of their customers is something that sells more vehicles. At least the major German manufacturers regally outsell the competition in EU because they actually let people choose what kind of car and equipment suits them. Being shoved down a few lanes Apple style is a common complaint for Asian manufacturers here ("Want that active cruise control? Tough luck, it's +8000EUR and you MUST get leather seats and bunch of other crap as well!" type deals).
- city41 10y agoIn Silicon Valley, the Model S is one of the most common cars. It's taken this area by storm. If that's any indication of future trends, the other companies should be reacting about now.
- te_chris 10y agoExtrapolating SV to any global market is mostly a recipe for terrible predictions in my experience.
- wott 10y agoYeah. In my west European country, Tesla represents about 3% of the EV market and... 0.03% of the whole market! This, despite electric vehicles being heavily subsidised (which infuriates me because the equivalent of a whole year of minimal wage, or 2 years of minimal income, is given, for each car, to the car buyer (or car manufacturer, depends how you see it)). I have never seen any.
- AstralStorm 10y agoI wish they refunded long term mass transport tickets that are in consistent use like this... Would be much more environmentally friendly.
- sidlls 10y agoNo it's not. I see lots of Teslas around here but far more BMWs, followed closely by Audi and Mercedes. I see Priuses everywhere. And outside of the valley Teslas are very rare by comparison with any other brand.
- stephencanon 10y agoFor a comparison point, in the modestly-wealthy part of northern New England I call home, midnight blue 328 diesel wagons with saddle brown leather interiors are as common as all teslas (I know of four of each).