The organizing committee of the second International Electric Vehicle Expo on Tuesday invited U.S. EV-maker Tesla back to the event.
“The Jeju governor and I have visited the Tesla Motor manufacturing site and we have sent a joint invitation but have yet to receive an RSVP,” said Kim Dae-hwan, chairman of the expo organizing committee, at a press conference later in the day.
The expo is slated to be held at the ICC Jeju from March 6-15 with more than 80,000 visitors expected.
“If Tesla learns about the market potential, I am positive it will participate: According to our research, the demand for electric vehicles on Jejudo Island and in Seoul, Changwon and Gwangju is expected to exceed 100,000 units by 2018. The Seoul Metropolitan Government alone is planning to increase the number of EVs to 50,000 by 2017,” Kim said.
Kim noted that Tesla, whose officials have recently visited the Korea Transportation Safety Authority to check domestic regulations, will have the opportunity to test the waters at the expo.
Another person close to the matter said that inviting Tesla, an industry trendsetter led by its founder Elon Musk, would be crucial for bringing diversity and authenticity to the event.
At this year’s EV Expo, aimed at drawing public awareness to electric cars and related businesses, major carmakers including Nissan, Kia, Renault Samsung, GM Korea and BMW Korea will showcase their newest technologies.
Electric-battery-maker LG and the Korea Electric Power Corp. will join while Chinese carmakers including Shanghai Motors are to show off their latest developments. Detroit Electric is expected to introduce two models for the first time ahead of its official entrance into the EV market.
“Every year we get more support from the industry. This year, Kia joined as the main sponsor, and next year, Hyundai Motor is expected to join us. We have received 900 million won ($824,000) in government subsidies and things are just getting better,” Kim said.
By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)
