Tesla Inc plans to double the number of repair and maintenance shops, add about 100 charging stations and revamp showrooms in China as the electric vehicle maker gears up to open its Shanghai plant.
Tesla plans to turn some of its showrooms in China into one-stop shops called “Tesla Centers” that also serve as delivery sites and offer maintenance support, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the rollout would start in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Photo: AFP
In coming months, the company also plans to double its service centers to 63 from 29 and boost fast charging stations by 39 percent to 362, according to Tesla planning documents.
“Expanding the service network is very important to boost customer confidence,” Tesla China general manager Wang Hao (王昊) said, adding that the firm would build more charging stations in China next year at a “faster pace.”
“There is growing sales potential from more inland cities, and a need to prepare for growing repair and maintenance demands to avoid complaints,” one of the sources said.
Tesla, whose service centers are mostly in China’s coastal regions and big provincial capitals, would open new ones in Urumqi, Kunming and Harbin, the documents showed.
The sources cautioned that plans might change depending on the circumstances.
Tesla’s corporate headquarters in the US did not respond to a request for comment.
Its efforts to boost its physical presence in China comes as the automaker has started trial production at the US$2 billion Shanghai plant, its first overseas factory, ahead of mass production by the end of next month.
Tesla has said it should be able to build 3,000 Model 3 sedans a week in its initial phases.
That is nearly four times the number of imported Model 3 vehicles sold in China per month this year, according to figures from research firm LMC Automotive.
It was not immediately clear how much Tesla would need to spend to expand its sales and after-sales network in China.
Maintaining growth momentum in China has become even more crucial to Tesla, as its US revenue tumbled 39 percent in the third quarter, its first decline in more than two years.
By contrast, sales in China rose 64 percent to US$669 million.
Tesla is also expanding its sales and delivery workforce in China: It has held several hiring events in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen for sales and delivery staff in recent months, according to recruitment advertisements posted on social media.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Taiwan’s property market is entering a freeze, with mortgage activity across the nation’s six largest cities plummeting in the first quarter, H&B Realty Co (住商不動產) said yesterday, citing mounting pressure on housing demand amid tighter lending rules and regulatory curbs. Mortgage applications in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung totaled 28,078 from January to March, a sharp 36.3 percent decline from 44,082 in the same period last year, the nation’s largest real-estate brokerage by franchise said, citing data from the Joint Credit Information Center (JCIC, 聯徵中心). “The simultaneous decline across all six cities reflects just how drastically the market
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
RSS