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Tesla Motors,
which sells world’s only highway-capable
electric vehicle, opened its European
flagship store in the heart of London’s
exclusive Knightsbridge district on June 25.
The 5,000
square-foot showroom on Cheval Place is in
walking distance from Harrods department
store and convenient to Heathrow Airport – a
high-profile expansion of Tesla’s
international presence. Tesla will also have
regional sales and service centres in
Monaco, Munich and Zurich, and four new
stores in the United States. All stores
provide test-drive opportunities to
prospective customers and information on the
growing number of electric vehicles.
Teslas
qualify for numerous incentives in European
countries and cities, including waivers of
luxury tax, reductions in VAT, free parking
and free charging. In London, Teslas are
exempt from the congestion charge, a saving
of up to £2,000 per year for commuters.
Tesla will
begin delivering cars to European customers
this summer of which the first 250 will be
the Signature Edition Roadster model, priced
from £94,000 on the road, with the option to
upgrade to the more powerful Roadster Sport.
A right hand drive entry-level variant of
the two-seater sportscar will be on sale in
the UK during the first quarter of 2010 to
capitalise on the growing demand for the
Roadster, for which 1,300 orders have
already been taken across Europe.
“Thanks to
an abundance of discriminating drivers and
progressive public policy, Tesla is already
well known in Europe,” said Tesla CEO and
Product Architect Elon Musk. “We expect the
London store to dramatically increase our
brand identity throughout the continent, and
with right hand drive models now due at the
beginning of next year, the UK market will
provide a solid foundation on which to build
this.”
The
Roadster is the first electric vehicle to
travel more than 200 miles on a single
charge, and the first ever EU and
US-certified lithium ion battery electric
vehicle. The Roadster gets the equivalent of
256 miles per gallon, travels more than 240
miles on a single charge and produces zero
tailpipe emissions.
Tesla is
also taking reservations for the Model S
sedan, which Tesla expects to produce
starting in late 2011. The Model S, which
will likely be the world’s first
mass-produced, highway-capable EVs, will
have unrivalled passenger and cargo space
and travel up to 300 miles per charge. |
