What's It Like to Buy a Tesla in China? Now We Know

Steven Schwankert | Mar 23, 2014 7:10 pm | 2 comments | 3116 reads

Ever wondered what it would be like to skip the car lottery in Beijing by buying an electric car? And not just any electric car, but a Tesla? Well, now we know.

Jack Perkowski, who writes the Managing The Dragon blog after his book of the same name, decided to find out:

Quote:
We went on Tesla’s Chinese website, then visited the Beijing store and spoke to sales representatives at both the store and the service center. The sales representatives explained to us that there are two Tesla models that can be reserved currently — the Model S, with a price range of RMB 734,000 to RMB 1.1 million ($120,000 to $179,000) and an SUV Model X where no price is yet available in China. Only the Model S is on display at the Beijing store.

So, if the sticker shock doesn't get you for a car that, at least at present, you will have real trouble charging anywhere but at home, there's an even bigger catch:

Quote:
The salesman pointed out that, even though the Tesla is an electric vehicle, it does not qualify for an electric vehicle license in Beijing. Therefore, Tesla customers must join the ranks of would be car owners in Beijing to obtain a license plate through the lottery process that has been established.

Wow. None of the benefits of an electric car AND all of the problems of a gasoline-powered one.

Read the full post here.

Photo: China.org.cn

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miclac1's picture miclac1 Submitted by Guest on Mon, 03/24/2014 - 15:26

" it does not qualify for an electric vehicle license in Beijing" Why do you think that it doesn't qualify? It couldn't have anything to do with that fact that it is an imported American car? No, that's not possible. The Chinese market is so open and fair that it couldn't possibly be that issue.......

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