Tesla (TSLA) announces European expansion plans at Geneva auto show
Tesla Motors (TSLA) will reportedly build additional charging stations and service centers across Europe. By year's end, the company claims that its combined European and Asian sales will be almost double those it expects in North America.
Elon Musk's Tesla Motors announced that it will build a series of new charging stations and service centers for its cars across Europe this year.
Danny Moloshok/Reuters/File
Selling cars is one thing, but taking care of your new customers is another.
At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, Tesla Motors (TSLA) revealed the nest phase of its European expansion plans, which center on the installation of more Supercharger DC fast-charging stations and opening many more service centers.
Tesla will install more Supercharger stations to fulfill CEO Elon Musk's promise--made last month during a Q&A session with European customers--that drivers will be able to travel "almost anywhere" in Europe using only Superchargers, by the end of the year.
The company did not release details on how many charging stations it planned to build, or where they would be located.
In addition, Tesla plans to add at least 30 new stores and service centers across Europe.
The company is undertaking this expansion in hopes that Europe will become one of its largest markets, along with North America and China.
By the end of 2014, the company says it expects to be selling almost twice as many cars in Europe and Asia combined as it does in North America.
Much of that growth is expected to come from the U.K., where a right-hand drive Model S electric car will soon go on sale.
The Model S has already proven popular in electric-car friendly Norway, where it was the best-selling new car in the entire country in September 2013 and remains among the most popular models.
Tesla currently ships cars to Europe for final assembly and distribution from a facility in Tilburg, Netherlands.
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