Is Fisker a Tesla killer?
The Karma convertibleIn about a year, Fisker Automotive will begin production on the Karma plug-in hybrid sedan. Already the company is finalizing the details on its dealership network and at least 1,300 vehicles are already on the books according to reports.
Yet, what is really interesting about Fisker is the plan to produce 15,000 plug-in hybrids per year. By the time the Karma goes on sale, on the other hand, Tesla might still not have produced 1,000 Roadsters.
Is Tesla quickly becoming irrelevant?
In terms of cost, both the Roadster and the Karma are in the same league. Yet, the Karma seems to offer so much more. For instance, a wider dealership network, better range, and more seating.
Yes, Tesla will eventually offer a 4-seat sedan that could cost-cut the Karma, yet Tesla's manufacturing history is a serious question mark. If Fisker can come out of the gate with all their manufacturing pistons firing, is there any room left in the market for Tesla?
Labels: electric cars, plug-in hybrid vehicles, quantum fisker plug-in hybrid, tesla electric car
posted by Dahcredyns at
9:07 AM
10 Comments:
Starting from $350,000... Yeh, man, this car will be a huge middle class success :-) Even Tesla is cheaper.
The $350,000 - $1,000,000 is the fee to become a Fisker dealer, not the cost of the car.
The cost of the Karma is $87,500 to $106,000.
Uuups... $90 thousand is a more reasonable price. On the other hand, it is a nice downpayment that I miss so much. That's definitely a luxury car for 300k/year+ people :-)
Without doubt both vehicles are WAAAYYY out of my range.
Still, there a are number of rich liberals out there whom love showing off their green cred., so such vehicles do have resonance I believe, especially if they can be proven reliable and easy to maintain. Fisker seems to have a good plan for that with its fairly extensive dealer network - extensive for such a niche vehicle.
Thus, if Fisker can sell 15,000 vehicles per year, I'd be pretty impressed. I'd also think it largely makes Tesla irrelevant, or puts the pressure on them to hammer out their production capabilities ASAP.
Agree, but I also see another point in all this: all electrical vehicles are not ready for acceptance even among rich liberals. All-electric is undoubtedly cool, but if the range is <= 100 miles plus several hours to go another 100 miles, it is really a toy than a real vehicle.
Plus several hours to recharges, I meant :_)
Tesla does have some disadvantages, number 1 being all EV. I would imagine that being pure EV forces Tesla to a lighter car and bigger, more expensive batteries. I would assume that Fisker has more design and engineering options since they have that backup engine to cover over any EV sins.
But one huge plus for Tesla, in my book, is that they own their dealerships and battery design. At least, I believe they own the battery design and dealerships.
The dealerships allow Tesla to touch their customers everyday. And owning the critical battery IP is critical. Those two things are straight out of Apple's playbook.
The lack of direct dealership ownership I believe is a major weakness in the auto industry. How much of Detroit's horrible performance is due to the fact that they don't actually sell cars directly to consumers everyday, capturing deep customer data? Tesla may have other weaknesses, but I love the fact that they seem to be breaking free from at least two of Detroit's major strategic mistakes. Although, I guess GM is serious about owning the battery design, so that is encouraging.
I don't know the story around Fisker, but if they are outsourcing the dealerships and battery, then I won't expect much from them long term. Typical auto industry business model, blah.
yet, how sustainable is tesla if they only have two dealerships in the US?
i understand trying to break old business models with new ones, but i'm not sure such a model is sustainable today.
in terms of the battery, those in the auto industry don't take tesla's batteries too seriously, at least not yet. their approach works today, at a cost. and, in terms of scalability, the tesla battery isn't feasible according to the battery experts I've talked to.
Tesla has let America down. They need to go away now and let the others take the lead:
Cheating:
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/21/profile-of-paypal-an.html
Battery Deal:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/08/16/some-complete-speculation-on-the-daimler-tesla-deal/
Lawsuits:
http://valleywag.gawker.com/380125/tesla-finds-the-electric-car-business-is-a-litigious-one
Cancer:
http://www.saxton.org/tom_saxton/2009/01/tesla-price-increase.html
Bad karma from the start:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/tesla-s-musk-calls-cofounder-the-worst-individual-i-ve-ever-worked-with-
More problems:
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/more-sparks-from-tesla/
http://greenfuelsforecast.com/ArticleDetails.php?articleID=683
http://erith1.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/tesla-single-handedly-sets-back-the-electric-vehicle-industry-by-10-years/
Pissing off the customers:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/tesla-to-angry-customers-its-all-about-us/
Two dealerships is poor execution, but don't blame the model! :)
Cool to know about the battery.
You know, it would be awesome to get some EV car company profiles. I don't know if that is up your alley, but a kind of series of profiles of the competitive landscape and different companies, the state of their technology, sales, prospects, etc. Add in some interviews with the principals where you ask them the kind of questions you've raised on this blog.
Would make a great reference and make for good discussion, if not flame wars.
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