Prof. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer admits that Tesla is the benchmarks for all EV's

[LST]

Interesting article in our local Newspaper. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer (German), renowed Professor for Economics and Car Industry admits in the attached article (in German) that the big ICE producers will have to adopt the Tesla-Principle to stay in the game. IIRC the first time he aknowleges Tesla as a serious player ; )


quote:

Mitte September 2015 hat Audi auf der
Frankfurter IAA seinen «Tesla-Jäger»
vorgestellt: Einen SUV, der rein elektrisch
fährt, mit einer Reichweite von
mehr als 500 Kilometern. Der SUV mit
435 PS soll 2018 auf den Markt kommen.
Der Akku mit einer Kapazität von
95 kWh soll mit einem Combined Charging
System (CCS) in 50 Minuten vollgeladen
werden. Natürlich bleibt Audi
nicht alleine, sondern BMW, Mercedes,
Porsche sowie viele andere arbeiten mit
Hochdruck an ihren «Tesla-Jägern». Und
auch bei den Massenherstellern läuft
das «Tesla-Rennen». Die GM-Chefin kündigte
Anfang Februar beim CAR Symposium
der Universität Duisburg-Essen
den Opel Ampera-e an. Das Fahrzeug
basiert auf dem rein elektrisch angetriebenen
Kompaktwagen Chevrolet Bolt
EV, der mit 320 Kilometer Reichweite
Ende 2016 in USA zu etwa 30 000 Euro
auf den Markt kommt. Das Rennen der
Nacheiferer des Tesla-Prinzips läuft.
Streng genommen sind es keine Tesla-
Jäger, sondern Nachahmer des Tesla-
Prinzips.
Tesla-Prinzip wird Benchmark
Das Tesla-Prinzip ist einfach und
überzeugend: Keine Kompromisse
durch sogenannte Plug-in-Hybride, 500
Kilometer elektrische Reichweite,
Schnellladezeiten von 20 Minuten und
ein (eigenes) Schnellladesystem, das Autofahrern
etwa quer über Europa ein
schnelles Stromnetz sichert.
Die Ingenieure aller Autobauer haben
sich in die sogenannten Plug-in-Hybride
«verrannt» und Milliardenbeträge investiert.
Die Fahrzeuge, die 30 oder höchstens
50 Kilometer rein elektrisch fahren,
sind mehr als 10 000 Euro – eher
15 000 Euro – teurer als konventionelle
Antriebe. Dazu kommt höheres Gewicht,
weil eben Batterien plus Kraftstofftank
und Elektro- sowie Verbrennungsmotor
«mitgeschleppt» werden.
Dritter Nachteil der Plug-in-Hybride: Es
sind keine echten CO2-Einspar-Karossen,
sondern durch Rechentricks rechnet
man den CO2-Ausstoss «schön».
Warum sollte ein Autofahrer so ein Auto
kaufen? Er verbessert weder den CO2-
Verbrauch, hat deutlich höhere Kosten
und müsste wegen ein paar elektrischer
Kilometer mit dem wenig komfortablen
Ladekabel hantieren.
Da die Nachteile gross sind, sind
Plug-in-Hybride schnell zu Ladenhütern
bei den Autobauern und Händlern geworden.
Milliarden hatten die Ingenieure
in die Entwicklung investiert, weil
man sich eben nicht getraut hat eine
echte Durchbruchinnovation in den
Markt zu bringen. Es ist quasi so, als
hätte Apple sein Smartphone so entwickelt,
dass der Ein- und Ausschaltbefehl
über die Touch-Technik und das Wählen
einer Telefon-Nummer mit den traditionellen
Knöpfen funktioniert hätte.
Kein Mensch hätte diese Ungetüm gekauft
– warum auch?
Nacheiferer werden schneller
Die Geschwindigkeit, mit der die konventionellen
Autobauer Tesla nacheifern
hat sich in den letzten Monaten
deutlich gesteigert. Der Auslöser war
der VW-Dieselgate. Durch Dieselgate ist
die Welt für den Dieselantrieb deutlich
«unkomfortabler» geworden. Nachinvestitionen
im Abgasbereich dürften
pro Fahrzeug mehr als 200 Euro ausmachen.
Diese Kalkulation unterstellt
Entwicklungs- plus Produktionskosten.
Bei etwa 15 Millionen Neuwagen in Europa,
die zu 55 Prozent mit Dieselmotor
ausgestattet sind, käme ab dem Jahr
2017 dann ein Betrag von mehr als 1,5
Milliarden Euro pro Jahr an «Nachinvestitionen
» auf die Branche zu. In einem
6-Jahre-Bereich – also bis zum Jahre
2022 müssten dann die Autobauer mit
«Nachinvestitionen» von gut 10 Milliarden
Euro kalkulieren. Es ist unwahrscheinlich,
dass diese «Nachinvestitionen
» vollständig auf die Autokäufer
«weitergegeben» werden können. Also
haben wir eine Gewinnverschlechterung
– überwiegend bei den europäischen
Autobauern – zu erwarten.
Da es sehr teuer für die Autobauer
wird, den Dieselantrieb stabil «Regulierungs-
Konform» auszulegen, werden
die Dieselanteile sinken. Dies ist gleichbedeutend
damit, dass die Autobauer
ihre CO2-Ziele verfehlen, wenn nicht
schneller mit «richtiger» Elektromobilität
gegengesteuert wird. Dass dies funktioniert,
zeigt der Testmarkt Schweiz.
Testmarkt Schweiz
Die Schweiz ist sicher nicht das wichtigste
Autoland der Welt. Aber an der
Schweiz lassen sich Trends erkennen.
Die Schweizer haben keine eigenen Autobauer
und sind deshalb «neutral»,
was Technologien angeht. Die Neutralität
der Schweiz macht das Land interessant,
um Trends unverfälscht zu beobachten.
Dies zeigt sich gleich an vier
Ausprägungen.
Erstens, es gibt weder Bevorzugungen
für Dieselkraftstoff, wie etwa in
Deutschland und vielen anderen europäischen
Ländern, sondern die Kraftstoffsteuern
pro Liter sind für Otto- und
Dieselkraftstoffe in der Schweiz gleich.
Daher hat die Schweiz auch nicht den
extremen Dieselboom wie in anderen
europäischen Ländern beobachtbar.
Zweitens, es gibt keinerlei Subventionen
für Elektroautos. Damit müssen
sich die Fahrzeuge im «harten» Wettbewerb
mit den konventionellen Antrieben
durchsetzen. Ein Norwegen- oder
Holland-Effekt, in beiden Ländern werden
Elektroautos staatlich gefördert,
existiert also nicht.
Drittens, die Schweiz ist ein Markt für
hochwertige Fahrzeuge. Bei hochwertigen
Fahrzeugen werden neue Technologien
in der Regel zuerst eingesetzt. Die
Schweiz ist damit auch eine Art Testmarkt
für die Marktfähigkeit von Zukunftstechnologien.
Gleichgültig ob
Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Porsche oder Audi,
Mercedes und BMW – die Schweizer haben
durch ihr hohes Sozialprodukt pro
Kopf deutlich höhere Anteile an Premium-
und Luxusfahrzeugen als der Rest
Europas.
Viertens, die Schweiz hat keinen eigenen
Autobauer. In Ländern wie
Deutschland wird die Kaufneigung für
neue Technologien zum Teil «überschätzt
». Die heimischen Autobauer –
etwa die Marke VW – bringen bis zu 30
Prozent der Neuwagen als Eigenzulassung
in den Markt. Damit werden bestimmte
Fahrzeuge künstlich «gepusht».
Diese Verzerrung gibt es in der Schweiz
nicht.
Die Tabelle links zeigt die Tesla-Verkäufe
in der Schweiz im Umfeld der
Oberklasse-Fahrzeuge. Das Ergebnis: Im
Jahr 2015 hat das Modell Tesla S mit
1556 Neuzulassungen die Schweizer
Oberklasse-Fahrzeuge beherrscht. Vom
Model S wurden im Jahr mehr verkauft
als vom Range Rover (1065), Porsche 911
(1027), Porsche Cayenne (894), Mercedes
S-Klasse (776), Audi Q7 (759), BMW
X6 (668), Mercedes CLS (500), Mercedes
ML und GLE (489), dem BMW 7er
(192), Porsche Panamera ( 168), dem Audi
A8 (100) etc.
Die Bilanz für Tesla ist beeindruckend
und für die Oberklasse-Hersteller eher
«ernüchternd». Die gesamte Mercedes-
S-Klasse – einschliesslich ihrer Plug-in
Hybride – verkaufte sich schlechter als
das eine Tesla-Modell. Selbst der Klassiker
Porsche 911 mit seinen vielen Karosserievarianten
kommt nicht an Tesla.
Steigender Marktanteil
Der Marktanteil von Tesla ist in der
Schweiz im Januar 2016 auf 0,7 Prozent
gestiegen (vgl. Abb. 2). Das klingt nach
wenig, wird aber relativiert, wenn man
sich die Marktanteile anderer Automarken
anschaut. Nur zur Einordnung: In
Deutschland haben im Jahre 2015 die
Marken Honda (0,66%), Land Rover
(0,57%), Jeep (0,46%), Subaru (0,2%), Jaguar
(0,16%), Alfa Romeo (0,1%) alle weniger
Marktanteile erzielt als Tesla mit einem
einzigen Modell im Januar 2016 in
der Schweiz. Dabei wurde das Model X
noch nicht in der Schweiz ausgeliefert.
Was übrigens für die Schweiz gilt,
kann auch ähnlich auf die USA übertragen
werden. 22 635 Model-S-Fahrzeuge
hat Tesla im Jahr 2015 in USA verkauft.
Die Mercedes-S-Klasse wurde nur
21934-mal verkauft, der Audi Q7 nur
18995-mal und Porsche Cayenne (16474)
und Porsche 911 (9898) ebenso wie
BMW 7er deutlich unter Tesla. Allerdings
gibt es in den USA staatliche Unterstützungen
beim Kauf von Elektroautos.
Daher ist das Bild «verzerrt».
Natürlich ist Tesla noch lange nicht
mit seinem an der Börse hoch bewerteten
Unternehmen «über den Berg».
Aber die Kundennachfrage im neutralen
Testmarkt Schweiz ist beeindruckend.
Tesla schlägt alle – deshalb wollen
alle jetzt Tesla-Jäger oder Tesla-Imitate
bauen. Der Newcomer Tesla ist der
einzige, der bisher den richtigen Sprung
in die Elektromobilität geschafft hat.
Die Strategie der traditionellen Autobauer
– auf alle Pferde zu setzen, also
Diesel, Hybrid, Plug-in, Brennstoffzellen
und ein paar reichweitenarme Elektroautos
scheint gescheitert.
Die Schweiz wird
zum Tesla-Testland
Der renommierte «Auto-Professor» über die Rolle
der Schweiz im Automarkt der Zukunft
VON FERDINAND DUDENHÖFFER
Die Top 25 der Oberklasse-Fahrzeuge in der Schweiz
(sortiert nach Verkäufen 2015)
Marke/Modell 2014 2015 Jan. 2016
1 Tesla Model S 496 1556 138
2 Range Rover Sport 1155 1065 58
3 Porsche 911 916 1027 77
4 Porsche Cayenne 574 894 48
5 Mercedes S-Klasse 678 776 49
6 Audi Q7 264 759 48
7 BMW X6 375 668 52
8 Mercedes CLS-Klasse 465 500 34
9 Mercedes ML-Klasse/GLE 993 489 216
10 Range Rover 360 371 24
11 Jaguar XF 324 349 27
12 Mercedes AMG GT S 3 326 9
13 BMW 6er 375 286 12
14 Jaguar F-Type 266 275 2
15 Audi A7 240 242 10
16 BMW 7er 132 192 29
17 Mercedes GL-Klasse 187 178 17
18 Porsche Panamera 199 168 11
19 Bentley Continental GT 120 119 10
20 Ferrari California 53 115 4
21 Ferrari 458 187 115 2
22 Maserati Quattroporte 116 107 4
23 BMW i8 64 103 5
24 Audi A8 158 100 23
25 Mercedes-Benz SL-Klasse 82 68 4
Gesamtmarkt Schweiz 301 942 323 783 20 205
Tesla-Marktanteil Schweiz 0,16% 0,48% 0,68%
Ferdinand Dudenhöffer ist Direktor des
CAR-Center Automotive Research an der
Universität Duisburg-Essen sowie Inhaber
des Lehrstuhls für allgemeine Betriebswirtschaftslehre
und Automobilwirtschaft
an der Universität Duisburg-Essen.

 

[Alfred]

Thanks a lot! Could be added to the thread EU Market Situation and Outlook where the relatively solid sales in Switzerland drew some attention.
From my experience I attribute much of this success also to the very good and well managed local team.

 

[brucet999]

Thanks for posting that article. I had not realized how perfectly Switzerland works as a test market for upper price-level autos, unencumbered by local manufacturer loyalties, and unaffected by government subsidies/taxes aimed at favoring one or another fuel type; eg: diesel, electric, hybrid, etc.

Reading it also made me stretch my Deutschfähigkeit a bit.

 

[mrdoubleb]

Thank you, great read!

 

[sandpiper]

Google translated.

Interesting article in our local Newspaper.

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer (German), renowed Professor for Economics and Car Industry admits in the attached article (in German) did the big ICE producers will have to adopt the Tesla Principle to stay in the game. IIRC the first time he aknowleges Tesla as a serious player; ) Quote: mid-September 2015, Audi has on the Frankfurt IAA his "Tesla Hunter»presented: a SUV, the all-electric driving, with a range of more than 500 kilometers. The SUV with 435 hp to 2018 come on the market. The battery with a capacity of 95 kWh is with a Combined Charging fully loaded system (CCS) within 50 minutes be.

Of course, Audi is not alone, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and many others are working with high pressure at their "Tesla-hunters". And even with the mass producers run the "Tesla-race". The GM chief announced in early February when CAR Symposium at the University of Duisburg-Essen at the Opel Ampera e. The vehicle is based on the all-electric compact car Chevrolet Bolt EV, the 320 kilometer range the end of 2016 in USA to 30 000 euro is launched. The race of the Emulator Tesla principle runs. Strictly speaking, there are no Tesla hunters, but imitators of Tesla principle.

Tesla principle Benchmark The Tesla principle is simple and convincing: No compromise by so-called plug-in hybrids, 500 kilometers electric range, fast load times of 20 minutes and a (separate) fast charging system that motorists about across Europe ensures fast power grid. the engineers of all car manufacturers have located in the so-called plug-in hybrids "wrong track" and is investing billions. the vehicles that 30 or more than driving 50 kilometers purely electrically, are over 10 000 euros - more EUR 15 000 - more expensive than conventional drives. In addition higher weight, simply because batteries plus fuel tank and electric and internal combustion engine to be "dragged". Third drawback of plug-in hybrids: There are no real CO2 savings-bodies, but by computing tricks expects to CO2 emissions "beautiful ".

Why should a motorist as a car purchase? It improves neither the CO2 consumption, significantly higher costsand takes over a few electric kilometers with little comfortable handle charging cable. Because the drawbacks are large, are plug-in hybrids quickly to dead stocks become among the car manufacturers and dealers. Billion had the engineers invested in the development, because it has just not trust a genuine breakthrough innovation in bringing market. It is almost as if would be Apple smartphone designed that the input and off command on the touch technology and dialing a phone number with the traditional would have worked buttons. No one would have bought this monster - why emulators are faster the speed at which the conventional emulate carmaker Tesla has in recent months increased significantly.

The trigger was the VW diesel gate. By Diesel Gate is the world for the diesel drive clearly become "uncomfortable". Subsequent investments in the exhaust area should per vehicle account for more than 200 euros. This calculation assumes development plus production costs. With about 15 million new cars in Europe, the 55 percent with diesel engine are equipped, came from the year 2017 then an amount of more than 1, 5 billion euros per year on "subsequent investments " to the industry. In a 6-year range - ie by the year 2022 would then have the carmaker with "subsequent investments" of good 10 billion euros calculate. It is unlikely that these "subsequent investments " entirely to the car buyer may be "passed". So we have a gain degradation - mostly in the European car manufacturers -. To be expected , since it very expensive for the automaker is, the diesel drive stable "Regulatory Compliant" interpreted, are the diesel components fall. This is equivalent to the fact that the carmaker miss their CO2 targets, if not with "real" electric mobility faster is unchecked.

That it is, shows the test market Switzerland. Test market Switzerland Switzerland is certainly not the most important car country in the world. But at theSwitzerland trends can be identified. The Swiss do not have private carmaker and are therefore "neutral", in terms of technologies. The neutrality of Switzerland makes the country interesting to observe trends unadulterated. This is shown at four different forms. First, there are no favors for diesel fuel, such as in Germany and many other European countries, but the fuel tax per liter for gasoline - and . diesel fuels in Switzerland equal Therefore, Switzerland has not the extreme diesel boom as in other European countries observed. Second, there are no subsidies for electric cars.This must be the vehicles in the "hard" competitive with conventional drives prevail. A Norway- or Holland effect, in both countries are electric cars subsidized by the state, so do not exist. Thirdly, Switzerland is a market for high-quality vehicles. For high-value vehicles, new technologies are usually used first. The Switzerland is thus also a kind of test market for the marketability of future technologies. Whether Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Porsche and Audi, Mercedes and BMW - have the Swiss by their high national product per head significantly higher levels of premium as and luxury vehicles of rest Europe. Fourthly, Switzerland does not have a car maker. In countries such as Germany, the propensity for is new technologies "overestimated partly ». The domestic carmakers - such as the VW brand - bring up to 30 percent of new cars as own admission in the market. So certain are vehicles artificially "pushed". This distortion there is in Switzerland not.

The table on the left shows the Tesla sales in Switzerland in the field of full-size cars. The result: In 2015, the model Tesla S has with 1556 new registrations, the Swiss dominated full-size cars. From Model S in more sold than on Range Rover (1065), 911 (1027), Porsche Cayenne (894), Mercedes S-Class (776), Audi Q7 (759), BMW X6 (668), Mercedes CLS (500), Mercedes ML and GLE (489), the BMW 7 Series (192), Porsche Panamera (168), the Audi A8 (100) etc. Record for Tesla is impressive and for the upper-class manufacturer rather "sobering". The entire Mercedes S-class - including its plug-in hybrids - sold worse than the one Tesla model. Even the classic Porsche 911 with its many body styles can not get Tesla.

Increasing market share The market share of Tesla's Switzerland to 0.7 percent in January 2016 and increased (see. Fig. 2). That sounds like a little, but is relativized when the market shares of other car brands to look. As for the classification: In Germany in 2015 have the brands Honda (0.66%), Land Rover (0.57%), Jeep (0.46%), Subaru (0.2%), Jaguar (0.16 %), Alfa Romeo (0.1%) all less market shares achieved as Tesla with a single model in January 2016 and in Switzerland.Here, the Model X has not yet been delivered in Switzerland. What incidentally applies to Switzerland, may also transfer similar to the United States are. 22,635 Model S cars Tesla has sold in 2015 in USA. The Mercedes S-class was only sold 21934 times, the Audi Q7 only 18995 times and Porsche Cayenne (16474) and 911 (9898) as well as BMW 7 Series clearly under Tesla. However, there are in the US government support for the purchase of electric cars. Therefore, the image is "distorted".

Of course, Tesla is far from his on the stock exchange highly rated companies "over the hill". But the customer demand in the neutral test market Switzerland is impressive . Tesla beats all - therefore want Tesla hunter or Tesla Imitate all now build. The newcomer Tesla is the only one who so far the right jump has made ​​in the electromobility. The strategy of traditional carmaker - to bet on all horses, ie diesel, hybrid, plug-in, fuel cell and a few high-reach poor electric cars seems to have failed.The Switzerland is the Tesla Testland the prestigious "car Professor" on the role of Switzerland in the car market of the future bY Ferdinand Dudenhöffer the Top 25 of the full-size cars in Switzerland(ranked by sales 2015) make / model 2014 2015 Jan. 2016 1 Tesla Model S 496 1556 138 2 Range Rover Sport 1155 1065 58 3 Porsche 911 916 1027 77 4 Porsche Cayenne 574 894 48 5 Mercedes S-class 678 776 49 6 Audi Q7 264 759 48 7 BMW X6 375 668 52 8 Mercedes CLS-class 465 500 34 9 Mercedes ML-class / GLE 993 489 216 10 Range Rover 360 371 24 11 Jaguar XF 324 349 27 12 Mercedes AMG GT S 3326 9 13 BMW 6 375 286 12 14 Jaguar F-Type 266 275 2 15 Audi A7 240 242 10 16 BMW 7 132 192 29 17 Mercedes GL-class 187 178 17 18 Porsche Panamera 199 168 11 19 Bentley Continental GT 120 119 10 20 Ferrari California 53 115 4 21 Ferrari 458 187 115 2 22 Maserati Quattroporte 116 107 4 23 BMW i8 64 103 5 24 158 100 Audi A8 23 25 Mercedes-Benz SL-class 82 68 4 total market Switzerland 301 942 323 783 20 205 Tesla market share Switzerland 0.16% 0.48% 0.68% Ferdinand Dudenhöffer is director of CAR Center for automotive Research at theUniversity of Duisburg-Essen and holder of the Chair of general Business Administration and automotive industry at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

 

[Johann Koeber]

To me this is major.

So far everything I heard of him was in defence of the traditional auto manufacturers. Seems he caught on with the Tesla strategy.

He is a very respected professor in the auto industry. I am sure his voice is heard in the boardrooms of all the majors.

This is a big step towards the secret master plan - now let's watch how it plays out.

 

[Olle]

Thanks so much, great article! It really puts the finger on what is happening at the big manufacturers right now. I wouldn't agree with the author that the Switzerland is a completely neutral test market though. From travelling to SZ a few times I realized that the people there are very environmentally conscious, even by European standards, which should help Tesla sales (at least this first time around). Once enough people have it though and most people are exposed to a Tesla and realizes what great a car it is, everybody will want it, environmentally conscious or not. But right now the enviro factor surely weighs in.

 

[Spidy]

Thanks for posting that article. I had not realized how perfectly Switzerland works as a test market for upper price-level autos, unencumbered by local manufacturer loyalties, and unaffected by government subsidies/taxes aimed at favoring one or another fuel type; eg: diesel, electric, hybrid, etc.

Reading it also made me stretch my Deutschfähigkeit a bit.

Look at the price of a Model S and a S-Class in Switzerland and then in some other European countries. In Switzerland you basically get a 90D + some leftover cash for what you get a 70D in Germany when you compare relative pricing to the S-Class. A 70D in Switzerland is significantly cheaper than a S-Class.

 

[CTemp222]

Not going to lie but I laughed when I saw his name :tongue:

 

[LST]

Thank you Sandpiper for putting the article through Google translate.

@ Johann: I think this indeed the tipping point in the reception of what Tesla is, and what has been accomplished so far. I find it noteworthy that Dudenhoeffer realizes, that the solution is not Hybrids but pure electric. Would be good to forward this article to the boards of VW, BMW, Daimler...

@ olle: In general i think this is a correct view of our country. As for the success of Tesla i believe this was certainly true in the very early stages (2009-2012), at least that was my perception at different Roadster owners events in 2010. Now the customer base is the "normal" mix of upper-middle class, who are eco friendly, or not at all (of course i have no statistics but know a hole bunch of MS owners). I think in Switzerland Tesla has accomplished to be regarded as a car company with a super product, that happens to be electric. The green factor does not play a big role here, as Teslas are premium products and in that sense non-eligible for die-hard treehuggers, who i perceive as being totally anti car, any car. Maybe the population is in general more environmentally conscious compared to the other nations in some degree and areas of life. The statistic of the average hp/kW on the cars sold in Switzerland speaks a different language. IIRC France has an average of 100kW, Germany 110kW and Switzerland a whopping 153kW.

 

[Olle]

@ olle: In general i think this is a correct view of our country. As for the success of Tesla i believe this was certainly true in the very early stages (2009-2012), at least that was my perception at different Roadster owners events in 2010. Now the customer base is the "normal" mix of upper-middle class, who are eco friendly, or not at all (of course i have no statistics but know a hole bunch of MS owners). I think in Switzerland Tesla has accomplished to be regarded as a car company with a super product, that happens to be electric. The green factor does not play a big role here, as Teslas are premium products and in that sense non-eligible for die-hard treehuggers, who i perceive as being totally anti car, any car. Maybe the population is in general more environmentally conscious compared to the other nations in some degree and areas of life. The statistic of the average hp/kW on the cars sold in Switzerland speaks a different language. IIRC France has an average of 100kW, Germany 110kW and Switzerland a whopping 153kW.

Ok, makes sense what you are saying. The 153kW average says something. So the environmentally friendly mindset helped Tesla over the hump back in the roadster days.
Well, we are glad then that Tesla has broken through in Switzerland, now perceived indeed as the super product that it is, on its own merits.

 

[Alfred]

I see 3 reasons for this preference of relatively powerful cars:
- The ability to pay for the "next model up".
- The relatively mountainous terrain, where you notice differences in power very quickly.
- We are partly belonging to Southern Europe with some Latin temperament and corresponding driving styles. As some say: The Swiss are the worst drivers in Europe. As stubborn as Germans and as temperamental as Italians.

I agree with LST that the "green factor" was not decisive - not even in Roadster days. The Roadster is too much fun to drive across alpine passes to be worth the attention of the green faction. I was once invited to an electric car gathering expressively to "to lessen the feared dominance of the green socks brigade" (literally).