California-based Tesla Motors appeared to have no plans or interest in entering the Korean market over the short term, a local report said.
“We don’t have business in Korea, and we don’t have plans to launch for a while,” said Atsuko Doi, a communications officer for the electric carmaker’s Asian operations told the Korea Herald in Los Angeles.
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Doi added that Tesla also has no comments on how it may perform in Korea in the foreseeable future, saying the company was “totally in full capacity for launched countries”.
The Japanese representative suggested Tesla was too busy coping with current customers to consider commitment in Korea where carmakers, customers and the government are less than enthusiastic about electric cars.
Tesla, which has showrooms and service centres in Japan and Hong Kong, had previously weighed entering Korea, but reportedly decided against it, the paper said. China, in the meantime, is expected to be added to its list.
Koreans are still lukewarm on EVs, despite recent improvements in government subsidies. A lack of infrastructure such as charging stations, combined with low interest from the nation’s dominant carmaker Hyundai Motor are all a part of the cause: Hyundai’s has an under 5 % market share in the global eco-friendly vehicle industry, according to the Korea Automotive Research Institute.
