Tesla opens new factory in Holland 29 | 09 | 2015
TESLA HAS OPENED new European car plant in Holland. Initially the electric car maker's new assembly plant in Tilburg will supply Tesla's 12 European markets with the Model S the company’s £60,000-plus all-electric saloon. It's also expected the plant will also build the upcoming Model X SUV.
The new facility, opened by Tesla’s co-founder, Elon Musk, is projected to assemble 90 cars a day, utilising car components imported from Tesla’s parent factory in Fremont, California.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the development is planned to speed up deliveries of the Model S — which goes head-to-head with the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class in size — to its 69 European dealers.
The new plant also, according to Tesla, is the first European factory to incorporate an indoor test track for production cars.
The 750-metre track consists of 400m of smooth asphalt, plus a section pock-marked with 6000 'dots' that simulate bumps in the road. Every car is driven on the track to check handling and detect squeaks and rattles.
Later this week, Tesla is expected to reveal the Model X SUV, which will be closely related in size and price to the Model S.
This will be followed in 2017 by a volume-boosting BMW 3 Series-rivalling Model 3 saloon which should propel Tesla sales volume towards 200,000 cars a year.
Related: Tesla expands Scots chargers
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Jim McGill