Total Battery Consulting
December 11, 2013

Will Tesla’s success change the course of vehicle electrification at major automakers?

Tesla’s success in producing and selling the Model S EV poses an interesting challenge to the auto industry and raises some intriguing questions that will have ripple effects throughout the industry. Tesla has created an entirely new high-end market niche. How will its success and business model affect the automotive industry going forward?

Automakers, challenged to explain Tesla’s success, acknowledge the following key points as possible contributors to that success:

  1. The focus on high-income buyers, for whom price is not an issue
  2. The driving range offered by the Model S, much larger than that of comparable vehicles offered by major automakers
  3. The use of a custom-built vehicle platform
  4. The custom battery pack incorporating a very large number of routinely produced small cells
  5. The high-tech vehicle design and integration
  6. Tesla’s image as a ground-breaking Silicon Valley tech startup

The relative significance of each of the items above, the prospect of a significant increase in sales of EVs with a range over 200 miles, and the direct impact on the major automakers’ next moves are discussed in the 2014 xEV Industry Insider Report, released this week by Dr. Menahem Anderman, President of Total Battery Consulting.

The 175-page Report—based on onsite interviews with senior battery technologists and business development executives at 18 major automakers and 20 battery-system suppliers across three continents—dissects hybrid and electric vehicles and battery technology, the market for each, and provides an insightful assessment of the likely trajectory of all three tiers of the industry as far out as 2020.

The Report offers the following:

  1. It evaluates the future growth of global EV, PHEV, and HEV market share.
  2. It discusses the individual directions of the major global automakers.
  3. It assesses the technological status and manufacturing positions of individual battery producers.
  4. It identifies which battery manufacturers are best positioned to succeed in the market and why.

Dr. Anderman routinely consults with major automakers, battery makers, and related-industry stakeholders. He is founder and chairman of the premier international industry forum, the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC). The 14th international AABC is scheduled for February 3 - 7, 2014, in Atlanta, GA, and the first AABC Asia will be held in Kyoto, Japan, May 19 - 23, 2014.

For more information about the Report and the AABC Conferences, contact Jo Anna Mortensen, Marketing Manager, at (530)-692-0140 or industryreports@advancedautobat.com