Taiwanese manufacturers are preparing to seize business opportunities that are likely to arise with the arrival of US-based electric car maker and vendor Tesla Motors Inc, which is expected to build charging stations in Taiwan, market sources said on Saturday.
Among the interested electric car component makers are electric vehicle harness maker BizLink Holding Inc (貿聯), electrical terminal supplier K.S. Terminals Inc (健和興端子) and power system management supplier Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), the sources said.
Tesla on July 4 announced its plans to enter the Taiwanese market.
Photo: Bloomberg
It has opened a pop-up store at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) to showcase the technology and design behind its electric vehicles.
The store is to stay open through Aug. 31, with staff answering questions about the electric cars and how to charge their batteries.
Buyers in Taiwan can pre-order Tesla Model S cars on the vendor’s Taiwan Web site, with the first delivery expected to come in the first quarter of next year.
Taiwan is the sixth market in the Asia-Pacific region into which Tesla has made inroads.
The company said that it will set up a regional service center and charging network in Taiwan to meet the needs of local buyers.
The sources said that Tesla plans to set up more than 10 charging stations in Taiwan, which has prompted firms like Delta Electronics to pay attention to potential business from Tesla.
They said Delta Electronics is expected to take the lead in power management solutions for Tesla’s charging stations, as the Taiwanese firm has long been exploring the global electric car market with a wide range of products to meet demand from its various clients in the US, Europe, Japan and China.
However, the sources said that while the government has pushed for the development of the electric vehicle industry, local construction and security regulations have failed to catch up with the developments and efforts to set up charging stations could be hampered.
The sources added that the government should introduce incentives to encourage electric car component makers to join the efforts to build a charging station network in Taiwan.
Tesla runs 681 charging stations, called superchargers, around the world to provide charging services for free, and the stations are mostly near restaurants, shopping malls and Wi-Fi hot spots.
Tesla cars can drive 270km on a 30-minute charge, according to the company.
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