Volvo has unveiled its Tesla competitor—the Polestar, designed to compete with the Tesla Model 3—just as Tesla has reportedly laid off hundreds of workers.
In fact, reports in recent days not only reveal firings but that it’s building some of its new cars by hand and can’t figure out how best to spot-weld steel in manufacturing its new Model 3, above.
You might attribute these wobbles to the creative destruction you can expect when one of the world’s most brilliant business innovators, with Elon Musk confident in his vision and wisdom. It’s not easy to take on one of the world’s most entrenched sectors, the auto industry, with the avowed goal of turning it upside down.
Tesla reportedly just fired several hundred employees after performance reviews weeded out people who weren’t meeting Musk’s standards—and Tesla still has 33,000 employees. Besides, Tesla is continuing to hire as it slowly ramps up production of its mainstream-priced,mass-market Model 3 electric car and prepares to introduce a concept for a Tesla truck in coming weeks.
Potentially problematic, however, is the fact that Tesla still hasn’t overcome some production challenges with its newest model. While the Tesla Model S sedan and Model X crossover are mostly made of aluminum, Model 3 is steel-bodied to cut costs. But CEO Elon Musk has made a point of forswearing the recruitment of most folks from the conventional auto industry, and they’re the ones who best know how to make steel vehicles.
So while Tesla’s production boss of about 15 months, Audi vet Peter Hochholdinger, is reportedly getting a handle on the situation, news keeps coming out that undercuts Tesla’s reputation as the sleek, new-age, electric juggernaut that established the market for luxury EVs.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla pulled Model 3 units off the assembly to assemble by hand as its operations team tried to figure out how best to weld Model 3.
All of this has done little to dim the enthusiasm of the 450,000 people who’ve paid $1,000 deposits to get into line for the long-range, all-electric Model 3 when it becomes available next year at prices in the low $30,000s after green-power government rebates.
Ditto for investors, who still give Tesla a stratospheric market cap despite nicking the stock lately for some of these production bottlenecks.
The biggest problem for Tesla and Musk may be that, the longer they delay the introduction of Model 3—which was initially scheduled for this year—the closer gets the opportunity for competitors such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Audi to come out with their own Tesla-fighting EVs.
GM’s Chevrolet Bolt has already proven that other companies can make long-range EVs and price them reasonably. And now Volvo has confirmed its Polestar 1 for 2019, marking the first fully electric model from the Volvo Car Group thanks to an investment from owner Geely Holdings.
As noted in Volvo’s press release, it also introduces a new sales model for the company:
Polestar will also move away from today’s traditional ownership model. Cars will be ordered 100% online and offered on a two or three year subscription basis. The zero-deposit, all-inclusive subscription will also add features such as pick-up and delivery servicing and the ability to rent alternative vehicles within the Volvo and Polestar range, all incorporated into one monthly payment.
The flat rate subscription means that having a Polestar car becomes a hassle free experience for the customer. This is facilitated by Phone-As-Key technology. It allows the owner to share a virtual key with a third party, and also enables access to a host of other on-demand features. This concierge service ensures that the customer only needs to focus on the enjoyment of driving.
All future cars from Polestar will have a fully electric powertrain. Polestar 2 will start production later in 2019 and will be the first battery-electric vehicle (BEV) from the Volvo Car Group. It will be a mid-sized BEV, joining the competition around the Tesla Model 3, and with consequently higher volumes than Polestar 1. The initial phase of the Polestar product roll out will then be completed by the subsequent arrival of a larger SUV-style BEV, the Polestar 3, which will create a modern expression of electric performance and driving dynamics.
The post Tesla Woes Create Opening for Rival Auto Innovations appeared first on brandchannel:.
No comments:
Post a Comment