Tesla is THE mark when it comes to electric vehicles. The brand name, sort of like Apple, which people immediately recognize and — with quality products — all too many salivate over. The announcement yesterday of a long-haul truck option (discussed all over, such as here, here, here …) truly moves the situation from dominated by soft benefits (who buys a Tesla roadster or plunks down a $1000 deposit to wait a few years for a car because they want to save some $s on their daily commute — as opposed to wanting the higher quality ride, to #ActOnClimate, to have a status symbol, to …?) to true green-eye shade calculation (Do the numbers work out?). While there will be some firms and orders who might ‘want a Tesla, damn the price’, a tractor trailer will only work in the market place if the numbers work out: will the electric tractor trailer perform as well (or better) at the same (or lower) price? Every indication: the Tesla system is well on the way to delivering that ‘higher performance at lower cost/lower risk’ nirvana for CFOs while also easing serious challenges like urban pollution from diesel engines.
Okay, Tesla … Tesla … Tesla … lets stop salivating for a minute.
There are others ‘on the road’ and others hitting the road shortly.
For example, Green4u is an emergent firm with some pretty serious automotive design, racing and manufacturing pedigree along with some serious ‘business’/financial background at its helm. As per the image for this diary (a McSUV EV???) and the one to the right, Green4u’s target market isn’t the mass automobile but a slew of fleet vehicle types and markets. As they put it,
Green4U is working to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles from taxi fleets, municipalities, military organizations, logistics companies and consumers.
This firm was new to me as I bumped into them, with the McSUV and their racing vehicle, at the AUSA (Association of the US Army) trade show a month ago — not exactly the expected place to bump into a LeMans’ looking electric race car. (Btw, other electric transportation options were there.) Their ambition to have commercial sales starting in spring 2018 sounded ambitious but two things truly caught my attention.
- The product mix
- 14 seat van
- 7 door stretch SUV
- Heavy duty 6 door SUV
- 4-door pickup
- buses (think city buses)
- neighborhood electric vehicles
- Their core business model
- Sell at or below competitors MSRP
- Provide higher quality — performance
- Blow away competitor on “TCO” total cost of ownership
Let’s take an example, the “MTU-6’ — that six door heavy SUV. Here is Green4u’s laydown:
| MODELS | G4U MTU-6 | CHEVY SUBURBAN 3500HD |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $74k | $80k |
| ANNUAL COSTS | ||
| — FUEL | $2k | $8k |
| — MAINTENANCE | $5k | $7.5k |
| ANNUAL OPERATING COSTS | $7k | $16k |
| FIVE YEAR TCO | $100k | $160k |
Now, to be honest, I’m not running out to buy a McSUV like the MTU-6 or the Suburban (Assault Vehicle) but these numbers are telling … and reflect Green4u’s case across the spectrum of their product line-up.
Green4u’s basic business proposition to businesses and governments: we’re offering
- a better product at the same price today
- to better satisfy your customers,
- that will perform better, and
- save massive amounts of money in operations …
Seriously, who can say no to that?
By this time next year, will we have
- Tesla long haul trucks hitting the roads?
- Electric delivery vehicles taking over in New York City?
- Green4u 14 seat van shuttling people from hotels to airports?
- High school students reserving Green4u stretch SUV’s for prom 2019?
- ….
The demise of the internal combustion engine is coming … Tesla isn’t the only firm accelerating that …