Tesla Motors Inc will adopt China’s future standard for charging electric vehicles, a company statement said, in an issue which has been a barrier to sales for the US firm in the world’s largest auto market.
Tesla’s imported electric vehicles now use a plug based on the European standard, which is incompatible with the current Chinese standard, Tesla officials have said.
However, Tesla has pledged to make its vehicles match China’s charging standard, which is still under review, said the statement released on Monday.
“Tesla will also provide conversion devices for vehicles to realize perfect compatibility with the new standard,” it said.
China is formulating its own standards for electric vehicles, including charging, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in September last year, but gave no timing.
“Solving the charging problem is the top priority in promoting pure-electric cars,” Tom Zhu (朱曉彤), Tesla’s general manager for the China region, said in the statement. “Tesla will fully cooperate on the development of the national standards and construction of public charging infrastructure.”
China’s electric car market remains small for now. Electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the country reached 26,581 in the first quarter of this year, three times the same period last year, but still accounting for less than 1 percent of total sales, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Meanwhile, General Motors Co (GM) cut its prices in China after reporting a decline in deliveries there last month, joining Volkswagen AG in stepping up discounts as economic growth slows in the world’s largest auto market and local brands gain market share by offering cheaper sport utility vehicles.
GM’s joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp (上海汽車) announced price cuts of as much as 53,900 yuan (US$8,700) on 40 models across its Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands, according to a statement on its Web site.
Chevrolet deliveries dropped 5.6 percent last month, while Buick sales slumped 8.5 percent, according to the company.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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