This is where some competition could come handy: many big procurement processes require the comparison of at least two viable options so having a Tesla Model S and a (hypothetically viable) BMW i5 to compare would help Tesla, too...
Now how do we hack government policy to require ZEV vehicles for all official cars - that would make quite a splash
Usually Fleet Manager and Procurement Manager sign agreement with say Toyota and Ford. Employees are offered a list of selected Toyota and Ford models. It is often possible to negotiate a make and model outside of the list.
Fuel reduction costs and good PR surrounding Tesla are great incentives for Fleet Managers. This market will be easy for Tesla imo.
I might add that the experience with the primarily Oslo staff at the service center there has been a big hit and miss. I've been spared most major issues we had in Norway, but even I would rate Tesla service as OK to good, nothing more.
There is a huge differene between the experience here in Oslo and what I hear from the US. The Trondheim store and service center seems to be up to US standards for service, the others not so much. This is probably because there are way too many cars in Oslo area compared to number of employees and just space. But still the result is a service that is excellent and crappy at the same time.
Currently the Model S is so cheap here most can accept it, but to truly compete with BMW and their likes here they need to get concisently good every time.
Cobos
I have a BMW and service it at BMW dealership. I do not pay for service due to the deal I got on the car. If I had to pay I would likely take car elsewhere.
I would in no way see BMW service as something that Tesla needs to strive to achieve.
My personal experience with BMW service is that there is a mismatch between what I would like to get and what is offered.
Here is how it is:
Call to book a service. Spot is given within say few weeks.
Drive a car to service center before 7:30am to leave the car. I would have preferred earlier but the center opens at 7:30am.
Several people turned up before the open time as we all have to make it to work from there.
Queue forms in front of concierge desk. The desk is in the car park, in front of the service door.
At 7:30 concierge and another person (doorman?) appear.
After 10-15 min wait, concierge finds my booking and instructs me to go inside and see particular Service Advisor.
I go inside large area with dozen or more desks. There is wait area in front of each desk and Advisor behind each desk, busy with paperwork or on the phone. Place looks like a bank, not car service center. Service Advisors wear suits and ties.
I wait another 15-20 min for my Advisor. Once he is off the phone and not busy, he asks me to approach. He takes my details, which I already provided at a time of booking, fills in the paperwork, takes my key and hands me loaner key.
In the afternoon, I come to pick up the car. I wait to see my Advisor. I ask few questions about the car and he can not answer, he has to contact mechanic to find out. That takes a while as he leaves the area and goes to workshop to find the mechanic. When he comes back I get some answers and that opens more questions in my mind. I do not ask any more as he would have to go see mechanic again, that would take too long, I do not want to wait in between each question and answer for my Advisor to go to the workshop and back.
Workshop and mechanic are off limits, behind walls. I can not bypass the Advisor and speak directly with the person that worked on my car. After Advisor hands me the paperwork, I am directed to wait at the concierge to get my car key.
As a customer I would have preferred to be able to deal directly with the person who works on my car and get first hand information.
If I have to pay for work on my car, stuff not covered with my deal, I take it to a local K-Mart Auto Shop as I prefer their service to BMW dealership. Service is faster, I can speak with anyone in the garage, garage is open (I can see my car at all times), and it is far cheaper. No concierge and no Service Advisors to shuffle me around.
