Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) to Start Electric Car Production in China

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By Jessica Schultz on October 15, 2014 Intl News

Data was collected from the website of Chongqing Foreign Trade & Economic Relations Commission. According to the information, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) has opened up a new company in Chongqing. The name of the company is Tuosule Auto Sales Company Chongqing and it is under the sole ownership of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA). Apparently, the automaker’s new Chinese service center is set up in Chongqing.

In 2009, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) had faced some problems regarding the registration of their name Tesla in China. In Chinese, Tesla translates as Tesila, an existing trademark in China. To solve this problem of registration, the company came up with the name Tuosule.

Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) has already announced that they will build accessories, parts and vehicles in Chongqing. The company aims at providing all of its brand products through the new service center. Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) have begun work on the establishment of charging stations. There are two charging stations at Chongqing Tiandi and Caifu Zhongxin, while 200 more are planned by the company.

When Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) was asked questions, they said that they are making plans to move into Chongqing in the future. However, the exact date of the move is not decided. The company also says that there is not particular limit to the number of charging stations that will be established in the urban areas of Chongqing. The larger the number, the better.

The value of vehicles in the more developed cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, is higher as compared to Chongqing. After 700,000 new vehicles were added since 2013, stats of 2014 show that there are 3,998,000 cars in Chongqing. The share of municipality in electric and hybrid cars increases steadily.

Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) has to face competition as well. The domestic automakers, as well as the international automakers, maybe the reason behind the slow growth of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) in China. The main problems faced by the company are the number and availability of charging stations and after-sales services.

Veronica Wu, the VP of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s operations in China, said that the company is planning to establish service centers all through China. This information was released in April of this year, during which time, the company was planning to set up service centers in the major cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and Hangzhou, by the third quarter of the current fiscal. Some of these establishments provide dealerships as well. The company is following the strategy to ensure that within a 200km radius, there must be at least one service station in the major parts of China.

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA), had visited China in April, this year. After the visit, he hoped that the company would achieve a lot in the local operations in the country. The company, after all, is making very heavy investments in China so that the country will soon start production of electric and hybrid vehicles. The company hopes to achieve this goal within the next 3 or 4 months.