Tesla has launched a new showroom in Istanbul, Turkey, a country where government officials have courted the electric vehicle maker for a new factory.
Tesla has opened its new store in Istanbul in a mall known as Metropol AVM, recognized as one of the most prestigious shopping centers in the country. Its first location is in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, in Armada AVM, another well-known mall.
The Armada showroom opened on January 6.
Tesla will be offering test drives and giving interested customers a look at the vehicles in its lineup.
After winning a license to operate its Supercharger Network in Turkey in March 2023, Tesla launched its first deliveries of the Model Y just two months later in May.
But Tesla’s future in Turkey could be much more than a few showrooms and a Supercharger Network. Instead, the country’s officials are still hoping that CEO Elon Musk might consider the region for a factory.
In September, Musk met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, where the two discussed a wide range of things, including a potential Gigafactory.
Tesla has been hinting toward building another factory in the Eastern hemisphere, with India being commonly mentioned as a frontrunner. However, there has been a lot of pushback, with domestic automakers voicing opposition to a reduction of import duties, which would help Tesla test demand.
According to reports, Musk said Tesla was already in discussions with several local suppliers and that Turkey was amongst its targets for a new factory.
The growth of new showrooms in Turkey is encouraging for the growth of EVs in the country. There are roughly 23 million vehicles in the country, and, according to Statista, over 66,000 EVs were sold in Turkey last year.
This is encouraging, considering the Arabian Gulf Business Insight said only 8,000 were sold in 2022, and just 3,000 in 2021.
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