Tesla poised to take over South Korean EV market
SEOUL: Tesla Korea is ramping up efforts to take over the local electric vehicle market, expanding its supercharger network in South Korea.
The electric carmaker will open its eighth supercharger station at Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul this month and complete building six more by the end of the year, the company said yesterday.
With six more superchargers to be established nationwide, including Yongsan in Seoul, Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province and Seogwipo on Jeju Island, the total number of supercharger stations in the country will total 14 by year-end.
It takes about 75 minutes to fully charge Tesla vehicles with a supercharger, compared to over 10 hours using Tesla’s 7kW home chargers. A supercharger station can charge six to eight Tesla vehicles at a time.
Tesla’s latest efforts came as the South Korean Ministry of Environment approved Tesla Model S 90D sedans for government subsidies last month. Subsidies range from 3 million won (RM11,000) to 12 million won (RM44,000).
The government has yet to decide on Tesla Model S 75D and Model S 100D for subsidies.
Despite high expectations for the iconic electric car maker that started service in South Korea in March, Tesla has so far posted sluggish sales largely due to high price tags of more than 100 million won, said Kim Pil-soo, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University.
The price of a Tesla Model S 90D has dropped below the 100 million mark to some 90 million won due to eased regulations made in July.
A total 48 units of Tesla models were registered in South Korea as of late August since the carmaker started deliveries in June, according to data by the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.