While Mercedes and a few others have successfully transitioned to electric vehicles without sacrificing design, those most talked about, like Tesla or Chinese manufacturers, resemble giant suppositories rather than vehicles. Living in the city where Tesla has its factories, it is undeniable that their vehicles are a visual pollution, not to mention their bulky trapezoidal-shaped electric SUVs. They are far from being luxurious, especially when you examine components like seats or steering wheels, which often resemble oversized smartphones rather than proper vehicles. Why sacrifice design? The answer is simple: internal components such as batteries are costly, and to ensure comfortable profit margins, many manufacturers like Tesla cut costs in other areas, design being one of them.
However, is the world ready for the shift to electric? Sales are slowly increasing, but many serious European manufacturers are backpedaling on going fully electric. With the benefit of hindsight, it is evident that the used car market for this segment doesn’t work, largely due to the high cost of batteries. Additionally, electric vehicles involved in accidents cannot be offered in the used car market because there is currently no system in place to recycle and dismantle batteries safely.
New types of batteries with better performance are emerging, but an effective recycling solution is still lacking at the moment.
Another issue is the range of batteries, which are too sensitive to drastic climate fluctuations, significantly reducing their capacity. Consequently, if you travel between two major cities in the USA, you will notice that while Teslas are quite prevalent in cities, they are almost nonexistent on highways and roads when it comes to covering long distances between cities.
In this segment, Mercedes is leading the way, with batteries that perform better in highly variable weather conditions and overall greater and more reliable capacities than most competitors. Furthermore, these vehicles are often better equipped, offer a more enjoyable driving experience, and provide a level of luxury that outshines the competition. This is where Tesla and others suffer from a serious lack of prestige. The Mercedes EQ, the pinnacle of luxury electric vehicles, serves as the showcase for the brand in this segment, and consequently, other Mercedes models benefit from advancements and technological breakthroughs made in the EQ. Another important aspect is the autonomous and computerized features of the vehicles, which are more advanced in Mercedes compared to Tesla. In fact, several European brands are partnering with TomTom, which has the best mapping technology by far, to incorporate part or all of this expertise into their vehicles.
While Tesla has been regarded as the leader in this automotive segment for years, now the focus is shifting towards Germany…
Thierry De Clemensat
Editor in Chief Bayou Blue Radio/Paris-Move