Tesla Produce Affordable Electric Cars 

Tesla revealed more information about their upcoming Model 3 electric car during a conference call on Wednesday. The Tesla Model 3 will be launching in 2017 and will cater to a wider market beyond sports cars. The Tesla Model 3 is expected to be priced between £19,500 and £26,000 – around half the price of the currently available models offered by Tesla

Added Competition in the Affordable Electric Car Market

Consumers will be able to get their first glimpse of the Tesla Model 3 in March 2016. So far, the shape of the vehicle still remains a closely guarded secret. However, it is expected that the Model 3 will be around 30% smaller than the current Model S.

By entering the affordable electric vehicle market, Tesla will be facing some stiff competition from established automakers like Renault, Nissan and BMW.

In a surprising turn of events, Tesla managed to secure 38,000 pre-orders of their new Powerwall energy storage system in less than a week. The Powerwall uses solar panels to charge during the daytime and uses the stored energy to supply a property with power in order to save on electricity. The Powerwall can also function as a back-up power source during blackouts. The president of Tesla, Elon Musk, is said to have been surprised at the number of Powerwall orders originating from private consumers rather than large-scale businesses who depend on technology to run.

The California-based automaker saw a 55% year on year increase in sales of the Model S luxury sedan. Compared with other electric vehicles, Tesla’s vehicles tend to have a longer range, which some consumers see as being worth the premium price tag. However, the battle for increasing the range of electric cars is starting to heat up. Renault-Nissan are working on improved battery design that could see electric cars reach a range of 400km per charge by 2020. This is nearly double the distance that current affordable consumer models are able to achieve

Tradex is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of motor trade insurance. We’ve seen an increasing amount of fleets switching to electric vehicles and will be keeping a close eye on the latest technological advances in this area.