Wednesday, July 20, 2011

All electric sports car Tesla Roadster back in Singapore


Tesla Roadster, all electric sports car, was already spotted on the roads of Singapore in April 2011, just a few of months after the Tesla Motors closed its Singapore. Tesla's tax break expectation for the roadster was not realized and unlike Hong Kong and Malaysia, Economic Board of Singapore decided to not give any green tax incentive to the roadster. It was quite sad actually, not because we did not have this rich man’s toy in Singapore, it is because the all electrical roadster could open up the doors for its affordable successor Tesla Model S sedan to mainstream market. Unlike other electric car producers, Tesla Motors is following the same route with all previously successful inventions and technological advancements: start with an expensive model and create a mass marketable model with the experience and revenue generated from this model. From cell phones to computers, all commercially successful ventures went through this path.

After Tesla closed its office, Tesla sports car are still here thanks to a local firm, FSG Mobility Concepts. The company has a showroom in Jalan Kilang Barat. FSG Mobility Concepts thinks it is positioned well to market the car since they will provide good after sales services. They are experienced in converting petrol driven cars to electrical cars and since they have converted a Porsche 911 and a BMW 5 there is a good interest of their electric car conversion services. I wish they are successful to promote this car since according to their web site, they are planning to bring Tesla Model S to Singapore by 2013 (expected production starts in 2012). Tesla Model S sedan will be priced around 67,000 USD for a intermediate version. Normal charging will take 3-5 hours and a QuickCharge will be possible in 45 minutes with 480 V outlet. Battery swap in 2 minutes will also be possible.

Tesla Roadster in Singapore - Source : www.zeromotoring.com
According to David Chou, managing director of FSG "you can get from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur on 13 Singapore Dollars of electricity". This is very good since it should same something other than the planet to justify its 520,000 SGD price tag! (For those who do not know, these type of cars are very expensive in Singapore due to 100% tax and COE and a a Porsche 911 Carrera S costs 400,000 SGD +).

See also Renault Fluence EZ

No comments:

Post a Comment