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Porsche Is Building a Tesla Competitor (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Back in September, Porsche unveiled a prototype for an electric vehicle. They were trying to gauge interest and figure out if they have the technical know-how to build one. Now, they've made the decision: Porsche's "Mission E" project will put an all-electric vehicle on showrooms by the end of the decade. Wolfgang Porsche said, "With Mission E, we are making a clear statement about the future of the brand." This is a reference, of course, to Porsche's parent company, Volkswagen, which has been in trouble for tampering with emissions standards recently.
Tesla have shown what's possible in terms of building out a fast-charge network quickly. No other car make seems interested. When you ask them, they all say the same thing: "We don't want to get into the fueling business."
Even Nissan. . . Nissan's "charging network" consists of Nissan dealerships, which is not exactly convenient for travel. And just to make your trip even more of an adventure, each dealership has its own charging policies -- including, in some cases, only allowing charging by cars sold from that dealer! If you ask Nissan about building more charging stations, they repeat the same mantra: "We don't want to get into the fueling business."
Even Toyota. . . They're pushing hydrogen cars, and they admit that fueling infrastructure will be crucial. They're lobbying governments to fund it. Are they going to build any hydrogen fuel stations themselves? Nope. "We don't want to get into the fueling business."
Toyota. . . Nissan. . . Porsche. . . Prepare to have your lunch eaten by a car maker that wants to get into the fueling business.
I never get my Tesla Roadster out of first gear.
Why are so many trying to compete with a company that is barely profitable, ...
Tesla has only explored the very top of the "willingness to pay" (WTP) curve, they have proven their design and engineering skills, they are at an early stage and still figuring out how to scale manufacturing and their supply chain, they have a brand name that is incredibly "aspirational", they can't build them fast enough to satisfy demand, ... Now imagine getting the logistics/manufacturing sorted out and moving down the WTP curve.
FWIW, the license plate frame on a friend's Chevy Volt: "I wanna be a Tesla when I grow up". When she posted a picture of the frame to a Chevy Volt owner Facebook page she got a ton of thumbs up. A second friend drives a Chevy Volt and also wants a Tesla, he has a university alumni license plate frame though. The only thing keeping these two friends from a Tesla is affordability and Tesla is working on that.
So as far as promising business ventures go, I think Tesla may qualify.
especially since oil has dropped?
Did declining hay prices interfere with Ford?
If you really believed that, you would not post as AC.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.