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Tesla will expand Supercharger network across Europe

It's not as exciting as a new concept vehicle, but Tesla came to the Geneva Motor Show with its own bit of news: Europe will soon get more Superchargers, more Tesla stores and more service centers. More of the company's fast-charging stations means it'll be even easier for continental Model S drivers to get from the North Sea to the Mediterranean for free and without emissions. Tesla said it expects sales in Europe and Asia to nearly double North American Model S sales by the end of 2014. Tesla is getting ready for those extra sales by opening more than 30 new service centers and stores there. The number of Superchargers in Europe will grow fast enough so that, "By the end of this year, we expect you will be able to travel almost anywhere in Europe using only Superchargers," according to CEO Elon Musk. The company has talked about European expansion before, but there are only 14 Superchargers installed in Europe today. The company's expansion map shows growth happening by next winter, but doesn't give a predicted number of stations it will have in the ground by then. Tesla Commits to Further Expansion in Europe GENEVA, Switzerland, March 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- New Supercharger locations and service centers enhance customer experience In order to serve a growing customer base in Europe, Tesla will open more than 30 new service centers and stores across the continent, the company announced today at the Geneva Motor Show. Tesla will also continue rapidly expanding its Supercharger network, allowing Model S drivers to travel long distances across Europe for free. The retail, service, and Supercharger expansions come as Tesla dials up its commitment to Europe, which continues to be a priority market for the company. In a recent trip to northern Europe to engage with customers, Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk highlighted the rapid increase in the rollout of the company's Supercharger network for Europe. "By the end of this year, we expect you will be able to travel almost anywhere in Europe using only Superchargers," Musk said. In 2013, Tesla delivered 22,477 vehicles to customers worldwide. By the end of 2014, Tesla expects combined sales in Europe and Asia to be almost twice as high as sales in North America. Part of that projected growth will come from the UK, where right hand drive versions of the Model S will soon be introduced.

Morgan Stanley says Tesla is world's most important automaker [w/poll]

If you had to choose one automaker, out of the dozens out there on the marketplace, to identify as the single most important in the world, which would it be? Toyota, the world's largest automaker? General Motors, which once laid claim to the same and is still the largest in America? Volkswagen, the largest in Europe? Or maybe Hyundai, which has risen like a phoenix from the proverbial ashes to become the fourth largest in the world? Nope, nope and nope, says financial services company Morgan Stanley: it's Tesla.
The potentially startling conclusion came in the form of an investment report cited by the LA Times and issued by Morgan Stanley research analyst Adam Jones, who wrote that "Tesla Motors has transformed from a fledgling start-up to arguably the most important car company in the world."
To back up the claim, Jones asserts that Tesla is not only an emerging force to be reckoned with in its own right, but has also spurred other, more established automakers to take electric vehicles (and their champion) more seriously. It's also prompted local governments to solicit Tesla to build its new gigafactory in their state, and encompasses more US content than any other car on the road.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla battery degradation graphed, Hyundai plans fuel cell hub in Korea

A man has created a graph of Tesla Model S battery degradation over time. Merijn Coumans of Holland is tracking the owner data gathered on from Model S owners in a single file and graphing it visually. Coumans continually updates the graph of drivers' maximum ranges to give a look at battery degradation over the life of the car. Coumans tracks mileage and even number of visits to Superchargers in his data. Tesla provides an eight-year battery guarantee regardless of mileage. Read more at the Steinbuch blog. US plug-in vehicle sales are expected to surpass 300,000 when the data is tallied at the end of this month. That is 30 percent of President Obama's goal of 1 million battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids by the end of 2015. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz admitted the US won't reach the goal, saying, "We're going to be a few years after the president's aspirational goal of the end of 2015, but I think that we are within a few years of reaching that goal." Green car analyst Alan Baum projects the 1 million EV milestone will be met in 2018. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Hyundai and the South Korean government plan to create a hub for fuel cell technologies. Hyundai and Kia will give up unused patents to automotive startups focused on fuel cells at a recently launched innovation center in Gwangju. "Hyundai Motor will offer substantial assistance in the whole process of corporate growth ranging from the development of ideas to industrialization to making inroads into global markets," says South Korea's President Park Geun-hye. Hyundai hopes this will make the city a center for hydrogen technology. Read more at Just Auto. Mayor Boris Johnson has approved a cycling superhighway for the city of London. Set to be built along the Thames embankment, the system of cycling lanes could help encourage more people to ride their bikes, reducing automotive traffic congestion and relieving pressure on other transit networks. Opponents are upset that the cycling highway will increase driving time across the city, and call cyclists a "loud minority," whose numbers doesn't justify the new lanes. Read more at Treehugger. Kansas and Nebraska are joining the challenge against the EPA's new ethanol emissions rules. The EPA's Moves2014 regulations seek to reduce automotive sulfur emissions by 60 percent, but, says Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the ethanol emissions measurement model is faulty and was adopted without public comment or review.