Tesla falling behind rivals among key segment: the super rich
Reuters
Tesla Motors Inc. could be losing ground in the luxury electric-car segment and among a very important demographic for the Silicon Valley car maker–the richest of the rich.
That?s from analysts at UBS, who said in a note Friday that the richest households (those with an income of more than $100,000 a year) are more likely to buy an electric car from a premium ?incumbent? maker such as BMW BMW, -0.90% Volkswagen AG?s VW, +1.28% Audi, and others, according to a survey UBS conducted.
When asking all respondents whether they?d prefer buying an all-electric car from incumbent brands versus Tesla TSLA, +0.49% 13% to 31% indicated a preference for incumbent brands, and 20% to 44% said they?d choose a Tesla, UBS said.
The differences in percentages relate to the different brands included in the survey, with BMW getting the most nods from the potential buyers. When asking only those with an income of $100,000 or more a year, however, 41% to 52% would choose an incumbent brand compared with 20% to 29% who would choose Tesla. UBS polled 9,400 people in six countries.
The results ?suggest that Tesla will face stiff competition as other premium (makers) begin to launch their own [electric-vehicle] models in 2018. We remain cautious on Model S demand as a result,? UBS said.
One of the biggest hurdles seems to be range, as only 43% of survey respondents consider 200 miles an acceptable minimum range for an electric car?s single charge. That percentage increases to 69% for ...
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