From an eponymous cocktail to eager buyers following the shipping routes of long-awaited vehicles, Tesla is having a moment in South Korea, particularly among tech-savvy professionals.
Kang Sung-mo, who runs an advertising production agency in Seoul, is a convert.
“I am not interested in cars, but I am interested in the Tesla brand and its technology,” the 39-year-old said.
Photo: Reuters
Kang bought a Tesla Model 3 in December last year, ditching the Hyundai crossover that he had bought only in the summer.
Being associated with Tesla’s reputation for innovation is good for his image, he said.
The US electric-vehicle maker last month had its best month for South Korea, selling 2,827 vehicles and bouncing back from weak sales in April and May, which were hit by US production disruptions due to COVID-19.
The Model 3 is now the nation’s No. 2 imported vehicle, ahead of the BMW 5 series and the Audi A6, and just behind the Mercedes E-Class.
By contrast, Hyundai, the dominant automaker in South Korea, saw sales of its Kona EV slump 31 percent last month to 2,513 vehicles.
Another 4,000 to 5,000 South Korean customers have the Model 3 on order, although most of them might have to wait until at least September for delivery, a source familiar with the matter said.
The source was not authorized to speak to the media and declined to be identified.
Tesla’s rising popularity among affluent professionals in South Korea, who have been relatively unscathed by the pandemic, is one of many feathers in the company’s cap.
Highlighting the threat it poses to established brands, Tesla last week surpassed Toyota as the world’s most valuable automaker, while its second-quarter deliveries smashed expectations at a time when sales at rivals have been laid low by the pandemic.
South Korea’s generous subsidies of 12.43 million won (US$10,409) for the Model 3 have definitely helped sales, bringing the vehicle’s price down to less than US$40,000, but the Silicon Valley automaker has also generated a genuine buzz.
In social media posts, South Korean Tesla fans avidly track the routes of ships bringing their vehicles to Asia, while at the nation’s bars, the latest trendy cocktail is a mix of HiteJinro’s Terra-brand beer and the Korean traditional liquor soju. Smashed together, their names are pronounced “Tesla” in Korean.
The automaker has additionally benefited from free advertising after popular South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in, known for his sense of style, drove his Tesla Model X SUV to go grocery shopping on a reality show that aired last month.
That has led to a spike in orders for the vehicle, a second person familiar with the matter said, without elaborating.
Some new South Korean owners said that they bought a Tesla for practical reasons.
Kim Dong-hwan, who works in IT in Seoul, wanted to avoid public transportation during the pandemic and driving fatigue on his long commute.
Not everything is perfect — his Model 3 has a panel gap and he has to wait several months before it can be fixed — but Kim said that the benefits and emotional appeal of a technologically advanced brand are worth it.
“I am very satisfied given that Tesla’s self-driving feature has reduced fatigue,” he said.
The death of a former head of China’s one-child policy has been met not by tributes, but by castigation of the abandoned policy on social media this week. State media praised Peng Peiyun (彭珮雲), former head of China’s National Family Planning Commission from 1988 to 1998, as “an outstanding leader” in her work related to women and children. The reaction on Chinese social media to Peng’s death in Beijing on Sunday, just shy of her 96th birthday, was less positive. “Those children who were lost, naked, are waiting for you over there” in the afterlife, one person posted on China’s Sina Weibo platform. China’s
‘NO COUNTRY BUMPKIN’: The judge rejected arguments that former prime minister Najib Razak was an unwitting victim, saying Najib took steps to protect his position Imprisoned former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was yesterday convicted, following a corruption trial tied to multibillion-dollar looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state investment fund. The nation’s high court found Najib, 72, guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering related to more than US$700 million channeled into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB fund. Najib denied any wrongdoing, and maintained the funds were a political donation from Saudi Arabia and that he had been misled by rogue financiers led by businessman Low Taek Jho. Low, thought to be the scandal’s mastermind, remains
‘POLITICAL LOYALTY’: The move breaks with decades of precedent among US administrations, which have tended to leave career ambassadors in their posts US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered dozens of US ambassadors to step down, people familiar with the matter said, a precedent-breaking recall that would leave embassies abroad without US Senate-confirmed leadership. The envoys, career diplomats who were almost all named to their jobs under former US president Joe Biden, were told over the phone in the past few days they needed to depart in the next few weeks, the people said. They would not be fired, but finding new roles would be a challenge given that many are far along in their careers and opportunities for senior diplomats can
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday announced plans for a national bravery award to recognize civilians and first responders who confronted “the worst of evil” during an anti-Semitic terror attack that left 15 dead and has cast a heavy shadow over the nation’s holiday season. Albanese said he plans to establish a special honors system for those who placed themselves in harm’s way to help during the attack on a beachside Hanukkah celebration, like Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian Muslim who disarmed one of the assailants before being wounded himself. Sajid Akram, who was killed by police during the Dec. 14 attack, and
RSS