Hey, Tesla — Audi and Porsche want some of your market share in electric cars.
Seeing Tesla's success with electric cars, the two popular auto manufacturers unveiled their own electric models at a Frankfurt auto show on Monday (September 14), according to a Reuters report.
Both vehicles will be available for purchase around 2018, but Reuters points out that they're being introduced in Frankfurt now, to perhaps steal some of the spotlight from Tesla and its Model X, which is set to begin deliveries on September 29.
Although Audi and Porsche might have snatched some of Tesla's limelight, they might be helping the latter brand in boosting the overall credibility of electric cars around the world, especially in the United States. The rationale is if Audi and Porsche are joining the space, then Tesla must be doing a whole lot right.
"It will certainly sharpen the public focus on electric vehicles and raise overall awareness," Commerzbank analyst Sascha Gommel told Reuters. "Consumers are also set to gain from growing offerings of electric cars, especially in the performance segment."
Each of Audi and Porsche's planned electric cars will boast 500 km of range, but they'll still be hard-pressed to top Tesla's benchmarks in the market.
"The largest challenge set forth by Tesla against all entrants into the pure electric market is that the benchmarks have already been set, and the bar is rather high," Ivan Drury, senior manager at Edmunds, told Reuters. "The fascination with Tesla is not that they were the first to introduce an all-electric vehicle, it stems more from the first electric vehicle without compromise to styling, performance metrics and range."
Perhaps areas where Audi and Porsche could outdo Tesla lie in handle and total driving performance — where the former two manufacturers have long enjoyed success and have built solid reputations.
