Tesla takes the lead

A number of major car manufacturers such as Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan, Fiat and BMW are currently pursuing various types of electric car project, but in most cases the focus is more on developing technical solutions than entire concepts for the electric car.

“The company that has made the most progress in creating its own ecosystem around the electric car is the American manufacturer Tesla”, says Magnus Johansson. “Tesla is going its own way by developing cars in the premium sector while rolling out its own network of charging stations. So far, the company has concentrated on the American market, but in 2014 they will be investing in earnest in Europe and in Sweden.”

Tesla have largely created their own technical solutions and have chosen to develop their own charging system, payment models and user interface for the software.

“As a Tesla customer, you pay a high price for the car, but in return you can charge the car for free for as long as you have it. Customers also get a guaranteed repurchase value for the car and a guarantee that the battery will not lose more than 15 per cent of its capacity in the first eight years. This sweeps aside many of the uncertainties surrounding the purchase of an electric car right from the start.”

It remains to be seen whether Tesla will be able to make the leap and become one of the winners in the creation of a mass market for electric cars, but the company is definitely showing the way for the future of the vehicle industry, according to Magnus Johansson:

“It is particularly interesting to see how Tesla has chosen to ally itself with Apple in various contexts, for example in the development of screens for the infotainment systems in the cars.”

Tesla has also recently recruited a number of key individuals from Apple, including George Blankenfield, who was involved in the development of the successful Apple Store concept, and Doug Field, vice president of hardware engineering at Apple.

“This presents exciting possibilities that could very well shake up the car industry and pave the way for wider use of the electric car”, says Magnus Johansson.

Text: Sven-E Lindberg

Published: 2013