Tesla Motors says it will soon be launching its electric sports cars in China despite difficulties over registering its name in the country.
The company has had trademark problems since the formal Tesla Motors trademark was originally registered in 2006 by a Guangdong man named Zhan Baosheng who claims to be researching electric car production and is offering to sell the rights to the name for HK$248m (US$384m).
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Tesla is also looking at ways to deal with the trademark issue as Zhan has not used the trademark since 2009, according to media reports in China.
Entry into the mainland marks the next stage of Tesla’s plan to expand into China. In July, the company received over 300 orders for its Model S vehicle in Hong Kong – a figure that surpassed the current number of electric cars in the city.
On his blog, Kingston Chang, general manager of Tesla China wrote: “We are now starting formal pre-order bookings for Tesla Model S.” He also revealed that Tesla’s China branch would not be seeking assistance from any local dealers in the mainland market. All of the company’s electric cars, including its famous zero emission Model S sedan, would be sold to buyers directly.
Atsuko Doi, head of communications for Tesla Motors Asia Pacific, told the South China Morning Post the company planned to open a dealership in Beijing in 2013, but further details and Tesla’s other plans for the China market were still confidential.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has described the Chinese market as a “wild card” for the electric car maker, because of its ever-growing wealthy middle class and the government’s recent push for clean energy.
