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Mercedes Unveils First Tesla Rival In $12 Billion Attack (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Mercedes-Benz, the world's largest maker of luxury cars, is rolling out its first in a series of battery-powered models, adding to a growing array of high-end brands targeting Tesla. The Mercedes EQC crossover starts production in the first half of next year, part of a plan to develop its EQ electric line, Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche told reporters in Stockholm at the car's world premiere. The company intended to invest $12 billion on the electric-car push, but the spending has become "more than that," he said Tuesday, without specifying figures. "There is no alternative to betting on electric cars, and we're going all in," Zetsche said. "It is starting right now." The new EQC -- roughly the size of the brand's popular GLC SUV -- features a range of more than 280 miles and accelerates to 62 mph in as little as 5.1 seconds. The Model X has a range of 237 miles. Daimler doesn't plan to establish a dedicated electric assembly plant and will instead build the vehicles at the same sites as conventional automobiles to be able to better adjust output, Zetsche said, adding that he expects demand to mainly eat into sales of combustion cars rather than lure new customers.
Superfast acceleration is perhaps #231 on the list of must-haves for prospective buyers of this type of car. The importance things to compete on are range, charging, looks, room, quality, comfort. Especially looks... many automakers get this wrong and think that when desiging an EV, you must toss all common styling wisdom out the window (hello BMW i3, you nasty eyesore). One thing that made Teslas so popular is that they are fairly normal looking vehicles.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Superfast acceleration is perhaps #231 on the list of must-haves for prospective buyers of this type of car.
It may not be top of the list for most buyers but to pretend it sits that low in importance seems not right to me... But beyond that let us proceed...
The importance things to compete on are range, charging, looks, room, quality, comfort.
Tesla's have more range as a top end option. Frankly I think if you are offering anything under 300 you should really go back and keep working it until you can hit that figure reliably.
Tesla has a HUGE lead in rapid charging stations (frankly to me this is the actual #1 for most people for any electric car since it means stopping overnight vs. for snacks).
As you say they mostly look like a real car, and I personally like how the model 3 looks better than almost any modern sedan. The look of the new Mercedes seems OK, though it seems oddly stretched out, like a piece of taffy just being pulled?
Teslas also have good room with extra trunks.
Quality and comfort to me seems about the same in a Tesla as modern Mercedes I've been in. Maybe slightly lower quality but even the top end cars are not that impressive quality-wise if you've attended an auto show recently.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Mercedes isn't the paragon of virtue quality wise. They have their own quality issues. My brother is a Mercedes dealer mechanic (among the top 10% in the nation) and he told me that there are a number of models he'd never recommend anybody buy. Their SUV initially had some serious quality issues with the electronics packages and once they fall out of warranty, few folks keep them due to their huge maintenance costs, so they get junked pretty quick.
But you do make a valid point. Tesla needs to get that factory working and stop messing around. They don't have time to mess with any new features, but need to start pushing out cars at a profit. They have to make good and start recouping their investors' money.
Long term, Tesla will face a serious issue with their build costs. That's where the majors will clean their clocks. They know how to run the supply chain, drive costs down on volume and build cars accurately and quickly. Tesla will struggle there too. Their margin for error is very small.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
Electric car owners will find themselves at public charging stations infrequently. As an ICE owner, I have to refill at a gas station once a week. An electric car owner generally charges overnight at home, and only has to charge on the road occasionally when their trip is longer than 250 miles. Sure- if you're going to say "But I have a 300 mile trip every week!" then an electric car may not be for you. But you would be greatly in the minority.