Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has had a run of good fortune lately. The company is likely to report its first profitable quarter in an earnings report it is set to deliver May 6, and the company is seen by some investors as the next big player in the auto industry. A news story today confirms the company’s ambitions.
According to Extremetech.com, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has partnered with Mercedes Benz to build a new family friendly electric vehicle that is due to hit the market in 2014. The car, which will be called the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive, is a hatchback style car with, as the name suggests, an electric engine.
Mercedes is touting the vehicle as a way of bringing the advanced engineering utilized in building the Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S to the masses. Though the Tesla car has been a pop culture phenomenon, the least sophisticated model of the vehicle costs a substantial $62,400. Mercedes hopes to offer the same performance for a much lower price, though that price was not immediately available.
The new car will have a range of 115 miles, an amount perfect for most journeys and the daily use of most Americans. Despite that, many consumers pinpoint problems with range, and charging times, as some of the substantial issues with getting an electric car. Further technological advances will be needed before the vehicles become truly mainstream.
A full charge of the vehicle will require seven hours according to Mercedes, but users will be able to get 60 miles of range out of the vehicle after a charge lasting just two hours.
According to the report, Mercedes built and designed the exterior of the vehicle, while Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) engineers worked with Mercedes to design the engine, battery pack and electronics. This is not the first car the two companies have partnered up on, despite the competition that is currently heating up between the companies.
Electric cars seems to be the future of the motor industry, and while Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is excelling in that area, other companies do not want to be left out. Mercedes is doing its best to keep up with the new trend towards cheaper to run electric vehicles.
Meanwhile Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is doing its best to keep up with demand for its luxury Model S. Right now, the company has more production problems than it does problems with demand.
