Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), the American company dedicated to produce luxurious self-driving electric cars, announced on Sunday it delivered 17,400 vehicles in the last three months of 2015. According to a press release, the car maker distributed 17,192 Model S vehicles and 208 Model X vehicles, the SUV with Falcon Wing doors.
The number of Model S delivered cars increased by 75 percent when comparing it with the same quarter of the previous year. Also, the company distributed 50 percent more cars than in its next-highest quarter, according to Wall Street Journal.
The renowned Model S from Tesla became popular with an acceleration system that goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in as little as 2.8 seconds without a drop of gasoline. Later, the company updated the car’s firmware to implement a self-driving system which appears to have a pristine performance.
On the other hand, the new Model X, caused furor among luxurious electric-car lovers with its 90 kWh battery that provides 257 miles of range, its seven comfortable seats, an acceleration system that goes from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds and its fashion Falcon Wing doors.
According to the Tesla Company Chief Executive, Elon Musk, by September 2015 around 25,000 customers had pre-ordered the $144,000 vehicle. However, the production of the company is not as fast as expected, so it would take between eight to 12 months to get the ordered cars delivered. It was announced that production of Model X was of 238 vehicles per week by the last week of 2015.
“Our vehicle deliveries represent only one measure of our financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of our quarterly financial results, which depend on a variety of factors, including the cost of sales, foreign exchange movements and mix of directly leased vehicles” wrote the company in a press release.
It is expected that Tesla sales will grow in 2016, since Elon Musk announced plans to open a Tesla manufacturing center in China in order to reduce the prices of the Model S by more than one-third. China is the biggest market worldwide when referring to cars, as each year more than 20 million vehicles are sold in the country. It was declared by the government that by 2020 there will be around 5 million cars in circulation.
“Worldwide electric cars sales will hit 600,000 with the U.S. market seen at 180,000. China, which has achieved rapid development in electric vehicles, it’s not known as an innovative juggernaut, however vehicle safety and the quality of batteries are of concern” said a spokesperson from the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers to Forbes.
Next year Tesla will unveil a new model that will cost around $35,000, which is the lowest price for a vehicle of the luxurious electric car producer. The model that has caused a lot of expectation will be shown in March and preorders will start in the same month. Sources suggest that with the new mid-cost model the company aims to expand its market among people who are becoming interested in electric cars but are not sure if they should invest in them.
It seems interesting that the CEO of Tesla is the man who runs SpaceX, the private company that developed the Falcon 9 Rocket, launched to orbit in December and has returned to Earth, which presents a complete new world of reusable space technology.
It is interesting how much this new segment of electric cars powered without a single drop of gasoline is becoming more popular everyday in the United States. According to an analysis from Frost & Sullivan 40% of all zero emissions vehicle sales in the U.S are done in California. It is predicted that sales will grow up to 1.4 million units by 2025 after the new zero emissions vehicle requirements take effect in 2017.
Luxurious car makers following Tesla
Last year, Porsche (NASDAQ: POAHY) announced the Mission E project, which aims to support sustainable growth. The German company wrote in a statement they are going to create 1,000 new jobs and will invest around 700 million euros in researches in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, where they will develop a new four-door deluxe electric car that will go from 0 to 62 miles per hour in under 3.5 seconds.
The company remarked they were making a clear statement about the future of the brand. In the next years they will expand the production of electric motors alongside the creation of a new paint shop and a new assembly plant.
On the other hand, there are rumors from motoring.com.au that Mercedes-Benz, the well-known German car producer, will launch four models of electric cars in 2018 in order to compete with Tesla.
Source: Market Wired