In a bid to reduce waste and associated greenhouse gas emissions, Jaguar Land Rover Automotive is now working to expand its use of recycled aluminum in car bodies — as part of a £2 million project dubbed “REALITY” — according to recent reports.
Mercedes and Volkswagen have again announced hastened electric vehicle plans. This article is certainly about these companies and their plans — which we’re very excited to report on today — but it would be a crime to not briefly highlight how they relate to Tesla, and why they are a “win” for Tesla. That bit is included at the end of the article, after getting through the hot news out of Germany.
Jaguar Land Rover Classics will bring an electric XK-E Zero concept to the Frankfurt auto show to see what reaction it gets from those attending the show.
Jaguar Land Rover is the latest well known auto manufacturer to admit that the future of automobiles is electric, the relatively near future even. Like Volvo announced a couple of months ago, Jaguar Land Rover’s plan is to not produce a single vehicle without an electric motor and battery from 2020 onward.
I compared Tesla Model 3 specs to the specs of its top gasoline-powered competitors a few weeks ago, but I didn’t provide comprehensive sales data at that time and several people requested such information. I was curious as well, so I dug it up and turned it into a couple of charts (below). Rather than just set you free with the data here, I thought I’d have a little fun here. Below is my take on why someone would buy each of these gasoline-chugging models in 2017 or 2018.
Have you ever wondered why you haven’t seen a glitzy TV commercial for Tesla’s new Model 3? According to Advertising Age, “Tesla still doesn’t need [any] paid advertising to make sales.” E.J. Schultz reports that, “even as the Model 3 goes on sale for anticipated delivery starting in the fourth quarter, word-of-mouth and free media coverage seems to be enough to fuel demand for the foreseeable future.”
Now that we have several official specs for the Tesla Model 3, I wanted to do a thorough update of how the Model 3 competes against comparably priced offerings from BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, Toyota, Acura, and Jaguar. Last week, I commented at length about subjective features of the Model 3 that I think will make it a much more attractive offer for drivers and passengers — openness, torque, serenity, and 21st century controls. I honestly think these are the core factors (along with the convenience of home charging) that will lead to the Model 3 dominating its market segment. However, I know many people just want to see the numbers and I am sometimes in search of specific numbers for various comparisons, so this article is primarily aimed at providing several key specs across a few variations of the Model 3, the Tesla Model S, and 22 gas-powered competitors.
BMW, Audi, and Mercedes should be prepped for this, since they’ve already been walloped in the large luxury sedan class. Nonetheless, what’s coming is like nothing they could truly prep for. These automakers have been trading wins with each other in various monthly and annual races, but Usain Bolt just came to town and is soon joining the track days.
The Model 3 is placed at the bottom of the premium sedan market. Of course, being a unique vehicle in a heavily undersupplied niche market, it competes with models well beyond the small premium sedan market, so definitely don’t consider this to be anything close to a comprehensive global competition summary — the Model 3 will be attracting people who would have otherwise bought a Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Ford Mustang, Nissan LEAF, and BMW Z3 (me 20 years ago). But I think this is a decent list of gasmobiles (gasoline-powered cars) whose sales will be remarkably body slammed by the Model 3.
Many electric vehicle advocates like to chastise American auto buyers for their love of pickup trucks, SUVs, and crossovers, but like it or not, the growing popularity of these model types has significant implications for the future adoption of electric vehicles.
