April 2014 Sales Thread
Pole Position
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,520
Likes: 171
From: IL
To me it comes down to a lot of American folks with coin want a nice American car.
If it is innovative that is icing on the cake.
The folks at GM and Ford are bone heads and can't get the right product through the pipeline (Ford being worse and I never give Chrysler any credit so skip that).
Folks outside the USA want what we want so Tesla will rock and roll.
If it is innovative that is icing on the cake.
The folks at GM and Ford are bone heads and can't get the right product through the pipeline (Ford being worse and I never give Chrysler any credit so skip that).
Folks outside the USA want what we want so Tesla will rock and roll.
Pole Position
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 262
Likes: 0
From: New York
GS,
Thanks for the current Tesla info.
Here is my 5 to 7 year guess for them.
First, let's look back. The roadster was an impractical car that created exposure and let the earliest adopters touch the product.
The model S has served to be a real proof of concept with a broader high income early adopter population.
The model X will expand the customer base by hitting the SUV and minivan folks (still upmarket and there really is no upmarket minivan).
The 3 series size car will go the the corporate managers who loved the model S the VP has but can't afford that.
The wild card will be the pick up truck and it should be fun to watch Tesla battle in that huge volume arena.
I also can see them doing more with the model S (I believed they already mentioned AWD is coming).
And then they can get back to sports cars and hopefully create the next great American sports car.
Thanks for the current Tesla info.
Here is my 5 to 7 year guess for them.
First, let's look back. The roadster was an impractical car that created exposure and let the earliest adopters touch the product.
The model S has served to be a real proof of concept with a broader high income early adopter population.
The model X will expand the customer base by hitting the SUV and minivan folks (still upmarket and there really is no upmarket minivan).
The 3 series size car will go the the corporate managers who loved the model S the VP has but can't afford that.
The wild card will be the pick up truck and it should be fun to watch Tesla battle in that huge volume arena.
I also can see them doing more with the model S (I believed they already mentioned AWD is coming).
And then they can get back to sports cars and hopefully create the next great American sports car.
Lead Lap
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,423
Likes: 10
From: NC
YahooNews
Toyota chalked up a record annual profit and sales above 10 million vehicles for the 1st time, but forecast Thursday a slower year ahead as the momentum from a weak yen fades.
Expenses such as the $1.2 billion penalty it paid in a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department earlier this year for hiding information about defects in its cars dented its profit for January-March quarter, according to Toyota.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's top automaker, is forecasting a 1.78 trillion yen ($17.5 billion) profit for the fiscal year through March 2015.
That's lower than what the company recorded for the fiscal year just ended, when its profit almost doubled to a record 1.82 trillion yen ($17.9 billion) from 962 billion yen the previous year.
Annual sales jumped 16 percent to 25.69 trillion yen ($252 billion), helped by a weak yen which aids Japanese exporters and thanks to growth in the U.S., Europe, Japan and the rest of Asia. The yen perk is likely transitory as the currency isn't expected to weaken indefinitely.
Toyota believes Japan sales were inflated in recent months as consumers rushed to buy ahead of a tax increase that kicked in April 1, so that such growth won't hold up during the current fiscal year.
Still, the company is on a roll.
The maker of the Prius hybrid, Lexus luxury model and Camry sedan became the 1st automaker to sell more than 10 million vehicles in a 12 month period, with sales totaling 10.13 million vehicles around the world for the fiscal year ended March. It also expects to surpass the 10-million milestone for the current calendar year.
It is expecting solid growth to continue, hoping to sell 10.25 million vehicles globally for the fiscal year through March 2015.
Highlighting the Japanese automaker's ambitions, it noted that extra costs including research and development expenses were a factor in reducing its January-March profit to 297 billion yen ($2.9 billion) from 313.9 billion yen a year earlier.
Quarterly sales rose 12.5 percent to 6.57 trillion yen ($64.5 billion).
It also said costs related to closing its auto plant in Australia cut into profits.
Toyota has bounced back from a massive recall crisis that began in late 2009, which tarnished its reputation.
But there was a moment of deja vu last month when it announced a recall of 6.4 million vehicles globally, for a variety of problems spanning nearly 30 models in Japan, North America, Europe and other places. Some vehicles were recalled for more than one problem.
Toyota has been trying to put the recall mess behind it, with the $1.2 billion settlement it reached with the U.S. Justice Department. It earlier paid fines of more than $66 million for delays in reporting unintended acceleration problems.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration never found defects in electronics or software in Toyota cars, which had been targeted as a possible cause.
Even more of a threat than recalls could be the fierce competition Toyota faces in key global markets from Volkswagen AG of Germany and Hyundai of South Korea, as well as U.S. automakers such as General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co.
Toyota sold fewer vehicles in North American for January-March at 567,000 vehicles compared to the same period the previous year at 603,000 vehicles.
But it is making up for such losses in other markets.
A weak yen also helped earnings at Honda Motor Co., which last week said that January-March net profit totaled 170.5 billion yen ($1.67 billion), up from 75.7 billion yen the year before.
Honda sold nearly 1.2 million vehicles worldwide during the quarter, also helped by demand ahead of the Japanese tax rise. It is forecasting a 4 percent rise in annual profit to 595 billion yen ($5.8 billion).
Although the dollar soared to about 100 yen during the past fiscal year from about 80 yen the fiscal year before that, it's unlikely to keep rising at that pace, to 120 yen, for instance.
Nissan Motor Co., allied with Renault SA of France, releases results Monday.
Formerly Bad Co
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,041
Likes: 0
From: Chicago
Not too surprised by Tesla, they seem to be everywhere. I see around 5 a day , I kid you not.
When I went out to lunch on Saturday I saw 2 in front of the restaurant and 2 others on my way out. All with in a period of an hour...
Prices for used ones are finally under 80k some can be had for 75k. Maybe towards the end of the year or next spring you'll see some under the 70k mark.
When I went out to lunch on Saturday I saw 2 in front of the restaurant and 2 others on my way out. All with in a period of an hour...
Prices for used ones are finally under 80k some can be had for 75k. Maybe towards the end of the year or next spring you'll see some under the 70k mark.
ClubLexus Stories
Celebrating Lexus & Toyota from Around the Globe
8 Tips for Improving Your Hybrid or Plug-in Hybrid's Efficiency!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Best Lexus Models No One Remembers
Joe Kucinski
TRD Off-Road Premium: Best 2026 4Runner, Except This One Thing
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Lexus & Toyotas to Drive Before You Die!
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Lexus/Toyotas With The LEAST 5-Year Depreciation
Joe Kucinski
Lexus LC500 Convertible Auction: A Preview of Rising Values?
Brett Foote
GX 550 vs TX 550: Best 3-Row Luxury Lexus Family Hauler
Michael S. Palmer
9 Best Lexus Models You Can Buy for Half Price (And 1 You Shouldn't!)
Joe Kucinski
2026 Lexus NX Buyer's Guide: Models, Features, Prices & More!
Brett Foote
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 20,223
Likes: 265
Most important for Tesla is to get more sales worldwide... they seem to be doing that right now... last time i checked, they were barely profitable and only due to selling their EPA credits to other makers... once that goes away, and it is going soon, they will need steady sales.
could be a crazy bad move, but i have to believe they've learned more than anyone about making 'volume' (even if small) electric cars, plus so many other aspects, and it wouldn't surprise me to see one of the big auto makers take a run at buying tesla.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,019
Likes: 0
From: NSW
The TESLA story
Media ; Tesla has confirmed that a 4th car, Model G will be available within 2yrs time
TESLA STOCK RISES by +100% in a single trading day
Media ; Tesla has confirmed that a 4th car, Model G will be available within 2yrs time
TESLA STOCK RISES by +100% in a single trading day
Last edited by yowps3; May 14, 2014 at 11:06 PM.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 20,223
Likes: 265
they made a profit one quarter, but apart from that, they lose money hand over fist. the stock took a hit after q1's earnings announcement though, so i decided to invest. could be a crazy bad move, but i have to believe they've learned more than anyone about making 'volume' (even if small) electric cars, plus so many other aspects, and it wouldn't surprise me to see one of the big auto makers take a run at buying tesla.
could be a crazy bad move, but i have to believe they've learned more than anyone about making 'volume' (even if small) electric cars, plus so many other aspects, and it wouldn't surprise me to see one of the big auto makers take a run at buying tesla.Tesla stock behaves more like tech startup stocks - it really has nothing to do with their performance at all, does seem like "investors" care about them making money, they rather look for future sales and profit and obviously you know how it works in CA, I bet everyone thinks Tesla sells like crazy since they see 10 of them per day :-)
Back to their EPA credits
For low-volume automaker Tesla Motors, the credits represented a substantial contribution to the company’s bottom line. Between 2011 and 2013, Tesla pocketed more than $237 million in credits from sales through this EPA program, as well as through California’s Zero Emissions Vehicle program and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. That’s a significant boost for Tesla, which had total revenue just shy of $2 billion in 2013.
:-)
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
