Infiniti and Porsche Join Tesla and Volvo in Competitive EV Drive
In his publication Green Auto Market, editor and publisher Jon LeSage writes: Global automakers are seeing electrified luxury cars as vital to being Tesla-competitive, government mandate-compliant, and standing out as high-performance innovative carmakers.
Product announcements last week from Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand and Volkswagen’s Porsche division tap into a larger story from last year. While global automakers are watching what Tesla is up to, an announcement in July by near-luxury brand Volvo seems to have had just as much impact on new vehicle product planning. French automaker PSA has Tesla- and Volvo-competitive plans in place as well.
Anyone who’s ever driven an EV can understand the appeal to those who value performance. Having the top of the torque curve at zero RPMs is such a different experience than piloting an internal combustion engine that it’s hard to express in words what happens when the driver hits the “gas” from a standstill.
2GreenEnergy associate Terry Ribb invited me to take a test drive of the Tesla Roadster a few years ago, insisting that I get behind the wheel. When I nailed the accelerator, I personally was afraid that the car would flip over backwards. I don’t know what Terry was thinking, but I do know that she shrieked in terror, like a schoolgirl does when a mischievous boy puts a frog down her back.
There are not too many automotive options for those wishing to go from 0 – 60 in under three seconds. Lamborghini (at $200K – $500K) or Ferrari ($200K – $1.4M) are two options; Tesla (0 – 60 in 1.9 seconds, under $100K) is another.
