New | Tesla is no 'Apple of the car industry', say Chinese state-owned carmakers

When asked whether the cutting-edge electric carmaker Tesla Motors may be a game changer in the global car industry like Apple was to the mobile phone industry, Chinese state-owned carmakers shrugged off such comparisons.

Xu Heyi, chairman of Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC), one of China's leading state-owned carmakers, answered very succinctly: “Impossible”.

Xu also asserted that Tesla boss Elon Musk was not about to become the next Steve Jobs. “[I’m] certain about that,” he said at this year’s Boao Forum for Asia, an annual economic conference held in southern China’s Hainan province.

California-based carmaker Tesla has drawn global attention for its dynamic approach to making electric-powered cars. Its Model S – a luxury four-door sedan with sports-car-like performance – has garnered international praise for its blend of attractive lines and powerful electric drivetrain, and is believed by many to be a product that’s reshaped the image of electric cars forever.

Overwhelmingly positive reviews from car critics helped boost Tesla’s Model S sales figures, and its stock price more than doubled from US$120.5 last November to US$254.8 per share in early March. On Wednesday, Tesla’s share price stood at US$210. Its success has also driven up the stock prices of electric carmakers in China, yet the launch of Tesla’s premium Model S in Beijing effectively dampened the future outlook of the home-grown new energy carmakers, including BAIC.

Xu said that BAIC was planning to unveil a new electric car whose performance will transcend that of Model S by the end of 2015.

Xu’s bold statement came months after BAIC in February acquired a 25 per cent equity stake in Atieva, a California-based battery developer for electric vehicles founded by a former Tesla vice-president, in a move viewed as shoring up its battery support and potentially improving the output of its currently averagely performing electric car.