[Courtesy of Pixabay]
Tesla has been dominating high-end electric automotive market since it's first vehicle, Roadster, release in 2008. After securing $465 million loans from the U.S. Department of Energy, Tesla soared to the top of the automotive market that has been heavily focused on producing gasoline-fueled vehicles. It is now valued at $48 billion as of 2017, passing Ford's market value of $45 billion.
However, as Tesla was splashing the news headlines with its vehicles that have long waitlists. Mercedes Benz has been discreetly securing its electric engine designs and technology.
Mercedes of Daimler AG, German automotive company, proposed a couple months ago that it will be investing $1 billion in its Alabama plant located in the U.S. to produce electric SUVs. After the news, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, "That's not a lot of money for a giant like Daimler/Mercedes. Wish they'd do more. Off by zero."
Daimler AG fired back on Twitter a day later, "You're absolutely right @elonmusk. Here is the missing zero: Investing > $10bn in nxt gen EVs & >$1bn in battery prod."
However, it was not Musk's taunt that made Daimler invest a total of $11 billion in electric vehicles production. The company has already secured the funding back in 2016.
The German auto company is planning to electrify its fleet of vehicles by 2020 and is planning to compete directly with Tesla. This may not be the best news for Tesla as it had branded itself as the high-end electric vehicle company but had low production rate.
Mercedes has the existing plants that can meet the market demand and supply. Also, it has a solid market presence in the overall automotive industry as the reliable automotive producer.
To secure its competitive market advantage in the electric auto market, Daimler joined hand with Chinese automaker BAIC. This move will help Mercedes secure a "substantial share" of the market by 2025.
The German automaker is also going to directly compete with Tesla by mimicking the Silicon Valley-based company's product line structure and launching its first home battery in California, Germany, and the U.K.
On the other hand, other automakers including BMW and Volkswagen proposed to invest a substantial amount of money to secure their place in the electric vehicle market. This means Tesla may lose its throne if it doesn't plan for the upcoming mass competition.
Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com
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