-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Sure, no one had seen an EV in this price range. What I (and many other europeans) am saying is that it's not about the drive train. It's about what else (interior, driver assistance, security, etc) you get in a comparable car. And to be fair, I know that the EV drive train costs a lot, so that's why I'm comparing with cars nearly half its price like a BMW 5-series or Audi A6.
We've had $8/gallon gas for many years here. Are you saying people in the US are more price sensitive?
BTW. That's one of the reasons low power diesels are popular in Europe, they don't use as much fuel...
I'm not European, so I'm not qualified to speak as one (but, I'd note, that even Europeans should avoid making sweeping generalizations about what Europeans want -- tastes vary).
Some notes:
Some notes:
- The Model S interior (if you get all the upgrades) is very good indeed but in a different style than the "gentlemen's club" luxury that European brands use. People pay a fortune for high-end modernist furniture, and for people who like clean lines, the Model S interior is much nicer than the burled-walnut approach.
- One of the greatest luxuries of the Model S is fueling at home. Trips to the gas station are never welcome; they waste time and are smelly, often dirty, and never cheap.
- It is perfectly fair to note that Tesla has cut some corners on the Model S that other premium manufacturers don't, e.g. using plastic clips to hold various pieces where MB would use metal. Still, the overall build quality is superb; check out the quality of the welding and uniformity of the exterior seams (which had initially been problematic).
Indeed - tastes and preferences are not the same from Norway to Italy. Being Swiss, I may comment as follows:
The Model S is a large car. For local uses and on many mountainous and country side roads it is often too wide to be practical to drive or park. This narrows the market to "large car buyers" where it competes with Panameras and the like. In that class it sells well. As far as I gleaned from conversations with owners, finish, style and relative absence of gadgetry did not draw any critique, but for the lack of Mercedes-type distance holding cruise control. The somewhat spartan simplicity was rather appreciated. Most do not like to read manuals before bed-time and do not live in their cars. The car is used to get from A to B and that in hopefully less than a couple of hours. Logically limited range was not an issue, in Switzerland even less than in Germany. The country is small and motorway speeds are limited to 120 km/h.
German friends, mostly from Hamburg, where I lived for a few years, were not concerned about motorway range and thought that their driving pattern did not include runs at 100 mph or more for any length of time. That was considered to be anyway far too dangerous in the nowadays usually quite heavy traffic. Their main concern was lack of access to a garage or parking spot in town with a plug, making an electric car impractical.
This is consistent with the view of a German electric car dealer who remarked that, contrary to marketing ideas of the traditional car industry, their best sales are in the countryside and farther outlying suburbs, where people have garages and room to park alongside their dwellings. If Robert says that people do not enjoy refueling, I can add that they do not enjoy searching for charging spots either. Disastrous reports in the press about vain searches for working charging spots with a BMW i3 in Hamburg have underlined those concerns of course.
The Model S is a large car. For local uses and on many mountainous and country side roads it is often too wide to be practical to drive or park. This narrows the market to "large car buyers" where it competes with Panameras and the like. In that class it sells well. As far as I gleaned from conversations with owners, finish, style and relative absence of gadgetry did not draw any critique, but for the lack of Mercedes-type distance holding cruise control. The somewhat spartan simplicity was rather appreciated. Most do not like to read manuals before bed-time and do not live in their cars. The car is used to get from A to B and that in hopefully less than a couple of hours. Logically limited range was not an issue, in Switzerland even less than in Germany. The country is small and motorway speeds are limited to 120 km/h.
German friends, mostly from Hamburg, where I lived for a few years, were not concerned about motorway range and thought that their driving pattern did not include runs at 100 mph or more for any length of time. That was considered to be anyway far too dangerous in the nowadays usually quite heavy traffic. Their main concern was lack of access to a garage or parking spot in town with a plug, making an electric car impractical.
This is consistent with the view of a German electric car dealer who remarked that, contrary to marketing ideas of the traditional car industry, their best sales are in the countryside and farther outlying suburbs, where people have garages and room to park alongside their dwellings. If Robert says that people do not enjoy refueling, I can add that they do not enjoy searching for charging spots either. Disastrous reports in the press about vain searches for working charging spots with a BMW i3 in Hamburg have underlined those concerns of course.
Europeans have had a long time to deal with higher gas prices mostly due to taxes I believe. When gas spiked to over $5/gallon a few years ago people here were freaking out and asking politicians to help by releasing strategic oil reserves. We also have basically no public transportation between cities that is worthwhile at least. You can get most cities in Europe on a nice network of trains. It would have more to do with the speed gas hit $8/gallon (oil crisis) than if it happened over ten years. We haven't really had to be as concerned about fuel economy due to relatively cheap gas compared to Europe. Diesels are also starting to get more popular here with gas prices rising.
Some Americans have also done the comparison of similarly priced vehicles and chosen the Model S mainly because of its power train. The power train does make a difference but is not enough to over come the lack of certain features for many people. I get that. I'm just saying there will still be some number of people where the power train does matter. Is it enough to make it a success in Europe until a few years from now when the features catch up? Will have to wait and see.
Last edited:
Similar threads
