Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Motor CEO, sees the overwhelming orders of Tesla’s Model 3 as a good thing – in fact he welcomes it, Automotive News reports. The reason behind this, was that Ghosn views the response as some “good competition” at long last.
“The fact that so many people are willing to pay a downpayment to get this car which becomes available at the end of 2017 is a good sign,” he said, adding “finally, good competition for EVs is picking up.” On a market-perspective, the CEO believes that it would stimulate demand for electric vehicles (EV).
He also noted that such new offerings from Tesla will lead to better customer appreciation of EVs and at the same time, it will also motivate Nissan to produce better vehicles. “We welcome competition because it can expand the market. It’s going to stimulate demand,” Ghosn reiterated.
Under the Renault-Nissan Alliance, a total of 302,000 electric vehicles have been sold globally, as of 2015. The number includes 211,000 units of the Nissan Leaf (since its launch in 2010), making the Japanese brand the EV leader.
Tesla on the other hand, has stated that 325,000 orders have been taken for the Model 3. The figure is now triple the cumulative sales of the Tesla Model S and Model X, from 2012 to 2015.
