Read on Twitter
1/ Now that we "know" that the 
#Tesla Gigafactory "will be" "built" next to Berlin, close to the new airport, it's worth noting that this Berlin Brandenburg Airport was to be opened in 2011, after 15 years of planning and a 5 year construction period. Budget was €2.8B.
#Tesla Gigafactory "will be" "built" next to Berlin, close to the new airport, it's worth noting that this Berlin Brandenburg Airport was to be opened in 2011, after 15 years of planning and a 5 year construction period. Budget was €2.8B.
2/ It is now set to open maybe in 2021, 10 years too late, the bill stands at €10.3B.
Maybe reasons are similar to those that German OEM's factor in when choosing a location for a new plant.
Maybe reasons are similar to those that German OEM's factor in when choosing a location for a new plant.
3/ Opel's last German plant was opened in 1990 (Eisenach). Since then they've opened plants in St. Gotthard, Hungary, Tychy, Poland, Gliwice, also Poland and St. Petersburg, Russia.
4/ Ford opened it's Saarlouis plant in 1970. In "recent" times they've opened their Kocaeli, Turkey plant in 2001, in Vsevolozhsk, Russia in 2002, bought an old factory in Craiova, Romania in 2008.
5/ BMW opened its Leipzig plant in 2005 and is now building a new plant in Debrecen, Hungary.
6/ Mercedes opened its Rastatt factory in 1992. Since then, they've opened factories in Hambach, France in 1997 and Kecskemet, Hungary in 2012.
7/ VW opened its last new German plant, Leipzig in 2001 (+ acquisitions/remodels in Zwickau (2001), the Glass Factory in Dresden (2000), OsnabrĂĽck in 2009).
8/ Since then, VW opened plants in Poznan, Poland (1996), Gyor, Hungary (1997), Kasiny (1997) in Czechia, Martin, Slovakia (2000), Solomonovo, Ukraine (2001) and Kaluga, Russia in 2007. They've planned a new one in Turkey, now going elsewhere (TBD, Bulgaria and Romania rumored).
9/ So no new plant has been opened in Germany since 2005. Wonder why? High wages, strong unions, extreme strict labor laws, privacy regulations (!), environmental limitations, and recently very high energy costs.
10/ I'm also pretty sure that Germans would subsidize their own manufacturers first. But we're seeing VW and Mercedes cutting jobs, freezing wages.
11/ Given the above, the whole European GF in 
doesn't make any sense. And we haven't talked about demand, but you all know how European sales stands. Specifically Germans bought ~7,900 M3's so far. Add 1,400 SuX. Out of >3M cars sold in DE this year, of which 53k BEVs.
doesn't make any sense. And we haven't talked about demand, but you all know how European sales stands. Specifically Germans bought ~7,900 M3's so far. Add 1,400 SuX. Out of >3M cars sold in DE this year, of which 53k BEVs.
12/ Where competition will eat Tesla's lunch as they arrive in the premium midsize segment, just as CUVs. Norwegian luxury segment shows what happens when alternatives appear.
13/ Apart from Kia Niro, Hyundai Kona, Byton M-Byte and MG ZS, which are already there, Peugeot e-2008, Skoda Vision IV, DS3 Crossback E-Tense (and Kia e-Soul), Audi Q4 E-Tron and Volvo XC40 will all be competing for the same customers from 2020 in the CUV segment.
14/ Model 3 competitors are almost too many to list. Start with Polestar 2, VW ID.3, Seat el-Born, Merc EQA, Honda E, e-Mini, e-Corsa, PSA e-208.
15/ My previous thread on the topic. I've got the location wrong. Will see how the others will turn out. https://twitter.com/fly4dat/status/1187317459466051584?s=20
