Source: Gasgoo Author: Xing Yun
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According to foreign media reports, this week Tesla opened the company’s first store in South America in Santiago, the capital of Chile, to showcase its electric vehicles. The company is currently grappling with slowing demand for electric vehicles and the growth of Chinese rivals.
On February 1, Tesla, led by billionaire Elon Musk, held a launch event in San Diego. The event attracted many local fans of high-end cars.
One fan named Noemi Schuffeneger said, “It’s so exciting to see these cars in person, Tesla is one of my favourite cars.” He posed for a photo with the red, white and black Model Y along with the Model 3.
Image source: Tesla
Tesla staff explained features such as air conditioning to visitors, with one pointing out that air conditioning in electric cars works differently than in “conventional cars”.
Tesla’s website shows that the company has previously opened a retail shop in Mexico, but it has yet to enter the South American market.
Chile is aiming to sell only electric cars from 2035, although overall the penetration of electric cars remains low in Latin America as consumers remain sceptical about high prices and underdeveloped charging networks. Chile has one of the world’s largest reserves of lithium, a key ingredient in electric car batteries.
Tesla took its first step into South America last September when it registered a company in Chile to “import, export, manufacture, market, distribute and sell automobiles, especially electric vehicles”.
