U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors and mobile carrier China United Network Communications aim to build car charging posts at China Unicom's 400 outlets that are sprawled in 120 cities. Likewise, the companies plan to build super charging stations that would deliver quicker service of up to 16 times faster in 20 cities around China. The information came from Peggy Yang, Tesla's spokeswoman in its China office.
Tesla will join Bayerische Motoren Werke AG to set up the charging stations in China. This will bring a more convenient way for owners of electric vehicles to charge up. The central government is pondering on spending as much as $16 billion to support the building of charging facilities and to boost the demand for environment-friendly cars.
The automaker plans to have all the 420 new charging stations ready to be rolled out in China within the year. Currently, it is selling the Tesla Model S for the Chinese consumers at around $121,000.
Tesla is also gearing up with new models that will hit the roads real soon. These are the new Model III which shall compete with the Mercedes C and the BMW 3 series, and the new Tesla Model X which shall be under production soon and is expected to launch within the year.
Tesla, which has its main headquarters in Palo Alto, California, also entered in a signed agreement with real estate developers China Yantai Holdings Co and Soho China Ltd. The agreement will allow Tesla to set up charging points at the developers' properties across the nation.
In the company's agreement with China Unicom, the latter will provide the land and basic services while Tesla will handle the equipment needed for the charging stations. Yang added that the charging stations are free for Tesla customers.
Electric car dealers see China as a thriving market for cleaner cars due to the government's support for the new technology of cars and its eagerness to reduce the country's smog level. However, it lacks the needed charging infrastructure which makes it difficult to gain support from the people in switching to electric cars.
It was in April when Tesla delivered the electric sedan to Chinese customers. The move is Tesla's initial attempt to penetrate the electric car industry in a country as vast as China. CEO Elon Musk plans on investing hundred millions of dollars to build a large network of charging stations in China.
