Jakarta Globe, Vanesha Manuturi & Tabita Diela, Feb 13, 2015
Jakarta.
Tesla’s Model S, a line of premium electric cars from Palo Alto-based Tesla
Motors, officially made its way to Indonesia on Friday, marking the brand’s
entrance into Southeast Asia.
Launched
three years ago in the United States, Tesla’s Model S will be available in
Indonesia through Jakarta-based premium car dealership Prestige Motorcars.
“We believe
Indonesia is ready for a high-technology car,” Rudy Salim, the president
director of Prestige Motorcars, said in Jakarta on Friday.
“The demand
for premium cars here is still high, and the [Tesla Model S] provides an
alternative for people seeking an environmentally friendlier option.”
Rudy added
that the electric car, which can travel up to 400 kilometers on a single
charge, would be sold in Indonesia for between $140,000 and $190,000, double
the manufacturer’s suggested retail price in the United States.
“We’ll also
install a charging station in the buyers’ home,” Rudy added.
The cars
will not be readily available at the dealership, he conceded, but will be
imported with each customized order. The first batch of deliveries are
scheduled for April.
The
dealership started taking orders on Friday and has already seen requests coming
from Jakarta and Surabaya.
Prestige
Motorcars is, so far, the only car dealerships in Southeast Asia to offer the
Tesla Model S, the brainchild of engineer and entrepreneur Elon Musk. The
43-year-old is also chief executive of Tesla Motors and space technology
company SpaceX.
Tesla
Motors made its first official foray into the Southeast Asian market by opening
a branch office in Singapore in 2010 and offering the Tesla Roadster. However,
the lack of a green technology tax break and subsidies from the government
forced the company close up shop 10 months later, according to a report from
AutoEvolution.
Despite its
popularity in the United States, the brand has experienced trouble gaining
traction on the global stage. Last year’s sales figures for China, where
Tesla set up a branch in 2013, was
weaker than previously expected, reportedly triggering a tirade from Musk
threatening to fire top executives in the country.
Nevertheless,
Prestige Motorcars’ Rudy said he was confident that Indonesians would embrace
the brand.
“The
[sales] decline in China was due to the country’s slowing economy, not a lack
of interest. In Hong Kong, for example, demand is high. It will be similar in
Indonesia,” he said.
Tesla’s
Model S will compete with other premium car brands that have already made their
mark on the local market, including Italy’s Ferrari and Germany’s
Mercedes-Benz.
The former
has sold 473 units in Indonesia so far, according to Ferrari Indonesia chief
executive Arie Christopher. The Italian brand now sells an average of 40 cars per year here.
GlobeAsia
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