Tesla Motors Inc yesterday launched its first supercharger station in Taiwan and announced its first delivery of five Model S vehicles to local motorists.
Tesla offers three charging options: home charging installations, destination charging stations and superchargers.
Destination charging stations allow people to charge their cars at equipped hotels, restaurants and shopping centers. Superchargers are set up in strategic locations such as near highways, and allow users to replenish batteries in minutes as opposed to hours. A 50 percent charge takes about 20 minutes.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of Tesla Motors Inc
Tesla operates more than 790 superchargers around the world.
“Charging is basic infrastructure for [the whole] electric vehicle ecosystem to go forward,” Tesla global vice president Robin Ren (任宇翔) said at the launch in Taipei.
The company said it would build several superchargers in major cities on the west coast, but did not provide a timetable.
Tesla is also planning to install more than 200 destination charging stations in nearly 50 sites across the nation over the next few months, Ren said.
“We will monitor the usage of all charging stations,” he said, adding that the company would make real-time adjustments and expand charging stations if necessary.
The company is to open its first after-sales center in Taipei soon and introduce its Model X sports utility vehicles to local customers, Ren said.
Commenting on the company’s collaborations with local companies, Ren said that Tesla has already established a supply chain in the nation.
“I am sure that the relationship with Taiwanese suppliers would only deepen,” he said, citing Tesla’s ongoing capacity expansion plans.
Taiwanese manufacturers in Tesla’s global supply chain include leading automotive gear maker Hota Industrial Manufacturing Co (和大工業), electric-vehicle harness maker BizLink Holding Inc (貿聯) and power system management supplier Delta Electronics Inc (台達電).
Tesla has delivered more than 190,000 models to customers around the world since the launch of Model S in 2012, and its factory in California is capable of producing 2,000 vehicles per week, company data show.
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