Page 1 of 4 Single page view
Boutique automotive companies have stolen the jump on making electric cars and they're now being courted by the establishment.
If there's one thing that's become a must-have accessory at motor shows around the world, it's the extension cord snaking from the floor and plugged in to a part of the futuristic concept car that may or may not go on sale in the next few years.
With the exception of the likes of Porsche and Ferrari-which are working on hybrids rather than electric cars- most large marques have displayed at least one car with a cord protruding from its gleaming paintwork.
Along with the obligatory "EV" signage to denote an electric vehicle, the cord is a brilliant way to demonstrate that the car runs on electricity, not petrol.
Ironically, one of the brands that now has an electric vehicle on sale, Tesla, didn't bother with the hoopla of the power cord.
In fact, at the Geneva motor show earlier this month, Tesla wasn't even positioned near the big brands, instead being relegated to a dedicated "green pavilion" out of sight of many show-goers.
Instead, Tesla relied on its reputation to continue the impressive publicity since the company first formed in 2003. Even when PayPal founder ElonMusk invested millions into the ambitious electric car start-up, he may not have predicted it would go on to become one of the world's most prolific makers of electric vehicles (Mini is vying for the title with a promise to have 500 electric cars on lease in the US by the end of the year).
Already some 250 Teslas-named after Nikola Tesla, who discovered AC current-have been sold in the US, with another 1000 ordered, stretching order banks to 12 months.
It's become the vehicle of choice for many tech-savvy Americans, no doubt helped by the fact other owners of the Roadster includeMusk, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and celebrities including George Clooney.
The Silicon Valley company is establishing itself in Europe, where half of the 250 cars planned to be sold there this year have been snapped up. Not bad considering the economic crisis, a A100,000 ($200,000) price and many more-fancied sports car brands in Europe.
Tesla is backed by serious money-and brains. Craig Davis is a man with experience in establishing brands. A former Coca-Cola manager, he helped establishMini in the US and is now the sales and marketing director for Tesla, working in Europe.
He's confident it will establish a niche, something he acknowledges could also happen in Australia but not for a while."
We've had interest from Australia but we're currently not working on right-hand drive," Davis says.
While the Tesla has in some ways shocked the automotive world into fastforwarding electric vehicle plans, it's surprising in its simplicity.
It starts life in the Lotus factory, where it shares parts with the Elise-although Tesla says only 7 per cent of the components are shared with the British sports car-before being shipped to California, where the electric motor and batteries are fitted.
Unlike the hundreds of components that make up an average internal combustion engine, the Roadster's electric motor uses 12 moving parts. One of the electric car's party tricks is that there's no exhaust pipe.
The electric motor and 450 kilograms of batteries mean the Tesla Roadster weighs some 400 kilograms more than an Elise, at a nuggetty 1.2 tonnes.
Then again, there's ample power to shift the tiny sports car, with 185kW to play with.
But it's the 375Nm of torque (comparable to an average V6 engine) available as soon as the motor starts spinning that makes the Tesla so spritely. Continued…
Click
No comments:
Post a Comment