Tesla To Expand Charging Infrastructure In Europe

Tesla is to expand its Supercharger electric-car charging infrastructure in Europe as it seeks to boost demand for electric vehicles.

The company is building a major electric-car factory in Berlin and last week demonstrated the high-speed chargers at a Berlin research campus.

It said it is looking to expand its charging-station network to reassure potential buyers about access to power stations.

The Supercharger stations were intially conceived as a network that would enable long-distance travel through strategically placed high-speed charging points.

Fast charging

Tesla initially favoured slower charging at customers’ homes and workplaces as their main charging method, but more recently its customer base has spread to include apartment dwellers who do not necessarily have access to home charging points.

“As part of our commitment to make Tesla ownership easy and convenient for everyone including those without immediate access to home or workplace charging, we are expanding our supercharging network into city centres,” said Tesla’s charging infrastructure manager for Europe, Jeroen van Tilburg.

He said the company is planning at least one more city-centre fast-charging site in Germany before the end of 2020.

A V3 Supercharger point gives a Tesla Model 3 car a range of 75 miles on a five-minute charge.

Tesla has 1,971 Supercharger stations globally comprising 17,467 charging points.

The Berlin factory is intended to build a new version of the Model Y crossover and possibly also battery cells.

Shanghai export plan

Separately, Tesla is reportedly planning to begin exporting vehicles manufactured at its Shanghai plant to Europe and other parts the Asia-Pacific region.

The company initially said the Shanghai plant would exclusively serve the world-leading Chinese electric vehicle market.

But Bloomberg cited unnamed sources as saying that China-built Model 3s for delivery outside China were likely to begin mass production in the fourth quarter.

The targeted markets include Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Europe.

Shipments may begin as soon as the end of this year or early 2021.

Tesla’s main factory is in Fremont, California.