Tesla To Have 20+ Stores In Europe
In the next several months, Tesla will add stores in Berlin and Stuttgart, bringing the total to six in Germany. (It already has stores in in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Munich.) The company will add fifteen more stores and service centers fairly soon (specific locations yet to be announced), so there will be over twenty in Europe. This expansion may seem overly ambitious, but Tesla has never been accused of lacking drive.
Cruising on the Autobahn at high speeds in a Porsche has been a fairly common fantasy, or even a real experience for some. Soon it may be a Tesla Model S, rather than a Porsche though. Tesla gambled on the fact that EVs could be aesthetic, powerful, fun to drive, and environmentally friendly. Previous EVs were more Nerdmobile than sports car, but Tesla changed that.
The Model S is sportier than some sports cars and more modern looking. It is fast, and very safe (supposedly landing the best safety rating ever given in the US). Of course, it also produces no tail pipe emissions, so it is a very good fit for the rapidly expanding clean energy infrastructure in Germany. From the standpoint of environmental friendliness, the Model S is a better fit than hybrid vehicles offered by the German giants BMW and Porsche.
From the perspective of good looks, drive-ability, and safety, the Model S may be a better car than comparable gas-powered cars. There has been a misunderstanding in some news articles about the Model S competing only with hybrids or other EVs. It actually may be the best new car available today, due to its various innovations. An online commenter explained that he has owned Land Rovers, BMWs, and other top-rated vehicles, but he said the Model S is the best car he has ever owned. So, the Model S is not a niche player, though there has been some talk of it in that narrow light.
Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW have market share, but they also have brand share — their vehicles are all over Europe, and so they are sort of self-advertising. If Tesla restricted itself to just a handful of stores, the public perception could be that the American company is nothing more than a blip on the collective radar. Making a bigger play with more stores is probably a good bet. Seeing more and more Teslas on roads is great advertising, because they are such alluring vehicles and stand out from the crowd very much.
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