Tesla Motors Inc was scheduled to hand over the first of its Model X sport utility vehicles (SUV) yesterday evening amid growing scrutiny of Volkswagen AG, one of the world’s biggest car companies, after the admission that it cheated on emissions tests.
The all-electric Model X, the second car in Tesla’s lineup after the Model S sedan, is crucial to the Palo Alto, California-based company’s efforts to both scale its manufacturing and broaden its appeal.
After years of delays, the question now is if Tesla can ramp up production of the X fast enough to meet its lowered sales target for this year. Much of Tesla’s sales are back-weighted to the fourth quarter, raising the stakes for a smooth — and steep — production increase.
Photo: EPA
The Model X will compete for customers with premium luxury SUVs that are largely made by German automakers, including the Audi Q7, the BMW X5 and the Porsche Cayenne.
While it is only certain diesel models made by Volkswagen that are under investigation in the emissions-cheating scandal, Peter Altmaier, chief of staff to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, challenged the nation’s carmakers to prove that their country remains a leader in the auto industry by beating Tesla in the electric-car market.
“I know Elon Musk, I met him last year, he’s an impressive guy and his Tesla car is an impressive car,” Altmaier said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Berlin. “I would be very pleased if the German carmakers would be able to produce an e-car that’s better and cheaper than Elon Musk’s car.”
Tesla has yet to release detailed specs on the car, but some information and images have been widely circulated online by customers who put down US$40,000 deposits to reserve the Signature Series, the limited edition vehicle that comes after the Founders version.
The all-wheel-drive X seats either six or seven passengers. In recent days, images of a six-seat Model X — with two second-row seats instead of three — have appeared in the online configurator.
Interior volume is a big issue for potential Model X customers, who want to know if they can fit bikes, skis and other recreational equipment easily into the vehicle. The third-row seats fold flat, according to Tesla’s Web site.
The car has what it calls “falcon wing” doors that open vertically and a 90 kilowatt-hour battery that is projected to have a range of about 402km per charge.
Musk tweeted that with the same options, the Model X will cost US$5,000 more than the S due to its greater size. The S starts at US$75,000.
Tesla aims to deliver 50,000 to 55,000 vehicles this year, compared with a previous target of 55,000 — partly owing to production snags with the Model X’s complex middle-row seats.
Tesla delivered 21,577 vehicles in the first half of the year, which means it must deliver 28,423 vehicles in the second half to meet the lower end of its guidance.
“The VW scandal highlights that the auto industry is under a lot of pressure to comply with tightening emissions standards and fuel-economy laws, and with an internal combustion engine, it’s difficult to conform without realizing a corresponding trade-off in vehicle performance,” said Andrea James, an analyst with Dougherty & Co. “Electric vehicles, and hence Tesla, fall outside of this conundrum.”
In related news, Tokyo yesterday ordered some of the country’s biggest automakers to report on whether their diesel vehicles meet Japanese standards.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism told four automakers that sell diesel vehicles at home — Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co, Mazda Motor Corp and Mitsubishi Motors Corp — along with importers of European brands to report by Friday on whether their vehicles are fitted with the software that can fool pollution tests.
Officials would then determine whether or not to beef up their current diesel car inspection process and change testing, Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Akihiro Ohta said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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