Tesla Drives Into China With Big Aims to Make Its Plug-In Cars Mainstream

Tesla at Silicon Dragon in Shanghai

Tesla Motors has big plans for China, and you can bet its car sales in the Chinese market will likely top the U.S.
The innovative electric car maker from Silicon Valley will “replicate its American strategy in China,” says Shanghai-based Tesla executive Dan Hsu.  The first cars were delivered in April, and Hsu says he  hopes that Tesla sales will “be bigger” than in the U.S.  Certainly anyone who’s been to Beijing and encountered the smog shares that view.
Central to the strategy in China is keeping the price tag for the cars at about the same level as in the U.S. — at least if you don’t count import tariffs. The Tesla S sells for RMB 640,000 or $104,000 in China. That compares with about $70,000 for a Tesla S in the U.S.  Tesla strategy is to keep pricing the same globally.
To get going in China, Tesla has set up charging stations in China at shopping malls, restaurants and hotels. Tesla-owned retails outlets have the free super-charging stations too where Tesla can get fully charged in about an hour. At the Knowledge & Innovation Community in Shanghai, there are three charging stations in the parking garage.
Just as in the U.S., the main challenge in China is a shift in perception that the car is not a huge pain to recharge, says Hsu, speaking at Silicon Dragon in Shanghai.  (The car was on display and drew lots of curiosity seekers.)
Keep reading post at Forbes, Tesla in China.