Japan Will Have Its First Tesla-Dedicated Vehicle Delivery Center In November

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There’s some great news for Tesla owners in Japan. Tesmanian has reported that Tesla is opening its first delivery center in Japan, which will focus only on deliveries to the Japanese market. This news follows a few other newsworthy events, such as Tesla cutting the price for the Model 3 in February in Japan and Japan registering its first wave of deliveries for the Model 3. The article noted that the price cut was possible due to Giga Shanghai supplying both the Model 3 and Model Y.

Also, Sawyer Merritt shared an email regarding Tesla’s new delivery center in Japan that one of his followers sent to him.

Sawyer also provided the translation, which reads as follows:

“We will deliver your Model 3 at Tesla Delivery Center Ariake, Japan’s first dedicated vehicle delivery base, which will open on November 1.

“On the day of delivery, you’ll be able to access your vehicle using the Tesla app, and view the Model 3 owner’s manuals and tutorials on the vibrant touch screen inside the vehicle.

“Please wait for a while as Tesla Advisor will inform you about the day of delivery. Watch the Model 3 support video in preparation for delivery.”

In another CleanTechnica article, Iqtiar Ali posed the question, “Can Tesla Increase Sales In Japan?” He noted that recent advice from a Tesla owner in Japan explained why Tesla hasn’t gained the same kind of sales traction in Japan as it had in other parts of the world. With Tesla’s new delivery center being opened in Japan next month, this may help usher in some change.

In July of this year, I wrote about a survey that showed that Japanese consumers were more interested in the Tesla Model 3 than any other imported EV. The survey was conducted by Current Motor, which operates Foreign Car King, an imported car service. In that article, I also briefly touched upon Japan’s EV challenges. Some of the key reasons for not wanting to buy an EV, according to the survey, was due to range anxiety, lack of charging, and love of engine sounds. I also mentioned that Tesla’s presence in Japan would definitely help move the nation closer to adopting EVs. I still believe that and I think that opening a delivery center for Japanese customers is a very strategic move.

New Statista Stats on Japan & EVs

Japan is a leading emitter of greenhouse gases, and automobiles account for around 16%, according to Statista’s latest report that was shared in July of this year. The top emitters in order are China, the US, India, Russia, and Japan.

Statista noted that the government of Japan has a different view on electric vehicles than we do. By the term “electric vehicles,” the Japanese government includes hybrid EVs, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell EVs in this category.

Regarding battery electric vehicles, which is what we want more of, there were 14,600 units sold in 2020. This was fewer than 2019 and 2018, but keep in mind we also had a global pandemic going on (still do) in 2020. For plug-in hybrid EVs, there were 14,700 units sold in 2020, which showed an increase compared to 2011. This beat out EV sales by just 100.

Another thing noted is that in February 2021, 34% of respondents in Japan said that the prices of EVs need to become reasonable for them to consider purchasing one. Around two-thirds of those who answered the first question would consider buying one if the price for a vehicle was not more than to million Japanese yen. And fewer than 40% of the respondents would be accepting of prices above the 2 million yen threshold.

Toyota Is A Major Obstacle To Real Electrification

Aiko Toyoda, who is the grandson of the founder of Toyoda, doesn’t want real electrification to happen, it seems. And by using the term, “real,” I’m referring to actual electric vehicles that don’t use any fossil fuels whatsoever. Toyoda told his colleagues that transitioning to EVs would be an expensive mistake.

“This means that production of more than 8 million units would be lost, and the automotive industry could risk losing the majority of 5.5 million jobs. If they say internal combustion engines are the enemy, we would not be able to produce almost any vehicles.”

He claimed that carbon dioxide, not internal combustion, was the enemy of achieving carbon neutrality, while hyping up hybrid vehicles. You can read more about all of the nonsense here.

All of this aside, I think Tesla’s opening of its delivery center in Japan is the laying of a foundation to help Japan fully electrify its market with clean vehicles that don’t pollute the air with fossil fuels. Toyoda’s just going to have to deal — or adapt. Change is inevitable.


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Johnna Crider

Johnna owns less than one share of $TSLA currently and supports Tesla's mission. She also gardens, collects interesting minerals and can be found on TikTok

Johnna Crider has 1996 posts and counting. See all posts by Johnna Crider