Tesla opens its patents to develop market in China

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-06-17

A Tesla car on display at the 2nd China International Technology
Fair in Shanghai, Apr. 24. (File photo/Xinhua)

US electric carmaker Tesla Motors has decided to offer open licenses for its patents in order to push for the development of the sector, the company's top executive in China told Guangzhou's 21st Century Business Review magazine.

Veronica Wu, vice president of Tesla's China operations, said the electric car market was still in its early stages, and opening access to its patent would bring in more people to work in this area.

"We want more new players to enter, the more the better, in order to compete with the traditional forces," Wu stated.

Tesla is not afraid of competition, according to Wu, because the company believes that many different brands and models are needed to boost the electric car market and replace all vehicles running on fossil fuels.

"If a company is no longer competitive after a certain number of years, it must bow out of the market," Wu said. "So it is okay. Our mission is to push for the development of the (new energy car) market."

In China, Tesla has seen a good start in Beijing and Shanghai after entering the local market over six months ago, Wu said, noting that that company's vehicles have been certified as new energy cars in Shanghai, making it easy for owners to obtain a license plate.

Tesla plans to work on expanding its service centers and charging stations in China, mainly in larger cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chongqing, Wu said.

Tesla will also work with local businesses in order to speed up efforts to build charging stations across the country, following its recent announcement about such partnerships with property developer Soho China and shopping mall operator China Yintai Holdings, Wu added.

The company is even willing to set up a charging stand at parking spaces vendors owned around their shops, regardless of the size of their businesses, Wu told the magazine.

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