미국 전기자동차 제조업체 테슬라 모터스의 IR 담당 부사장 제프리 에반슨은 한국시장이 “익사이팅(exciting)” 하지만 진출여부에 대해서는 말을 아꼈다.
그러면서 그는 삼성SDI와 LG화학등과의 전지 공급건을 놓고 여전히 “협상중”이라고 밝혔다.
테슬라는 오늘(18일) 오후 여의도에서 투자설명회를 열어 업계의 관심을 한 몸에 받았다.
한국시장의 우선순위가 낮은 것이냐는 질문에 대해서는 꼭 그렇지만은 않다고 답변하면서도 물량이 부족해 판매가 어렵다는 뜻을 전했다. "기존시장에 공급할 물량도 부족하다"는 것이 에반슨 부사장의 설명.
한편, 전문가들은 테슬라 관계자들이 오전에 국민연금공단을 방문한 사실을 강조하며 결국 테슬라의 주요 관심사는 자동차 판매가 아닌 투자라는 의견을 전했다.
"모델S 등의 세단이 불티나게 팔리고 있지만 여전히 재정적자상태에, 최근 한달 간 주가가 약 20% 가까이 빠진 점 등을 볼때 국민연금에서 투자를 할지는 미지수,"라고 한 증권사 애널리스트는 말했다.
게다가 차량의 잇단 화재와 공장 직원의 부상 등 악재가 끊이지 않고 있다.
테슬라는 현재 내년 판매 목표를 21,500대로 잡고 있으며 올해 중국 상해에 지점을 오픈할 계획이다. (코리아헤럴드 김지현/이지윤 기자)
<관련 영문 기사>
Tesla undecided on launching in Korea
IR head more interested in securing investment from pension fund
By Kim Ji-hyun and Lee Ji-yoon
Tesla Motors of the U.S. on Monday called Korea an “exciting” market but failed to confirm whether it would be opening its next store here.
Jeff Evanson, vice president of investor relations at Tesla, told The Korea Herald that while he could not say if Korea is a low-priority market, Tesla simply had not enough supplies to meet the market demands, saying there was a supply constraint where it was already selling.
“Certainly we do see Korea as an exciting market, but we can’t make any announcement on our next store,” Evanson said at Tesla’s first investor relations session in Korea held at Yeouido.
The visit comes after Tesla stocks slid up to 20 percent over the past month.
Market watchers said for Korea, Tesla’s interest seemed to be not in selling cars, but in receiving investment.
“They don’t seem to have plans to sell cars here,” said Shin Jung-gwan, a senior analyst at KB Securities.
Evanson on Monday confirmed that he met with high-ranking officials at the National Pension Fund, a potential investor.
Shin was skeptical about the fund taking interest in Tesla, citing the poor stock records and the fact that Tesla was continuously losing money.
Next year, Tesla expects to deliver up to 21,500 cars. Some of those cars will go to Shanghai, where Tesla will open a new store this year.
“We have got to be busy in Asia,“ Evanson said.
Evanson added that the company would continue to work with its partners on cell supply agreements.
“We are truly in discussions with other cell suppliers, including Samsung SDI and LG Chem. It does take several years to qualify cell suppliers for Tesla,” he said, confirming that Tesla is still in talks despite having recently signed an agreement with long-standing partner Panasonic.
Last month, Tesla had announced its decision to expand its automotive-grade lithium-ion battery cells from the Japanese brand – Panasonic will supply nearly 2 billion cells over the next four years.
Tesla’s visit this week sparked speculation that the company is interested in investing here, a move that would mark an about-face from its earlier statements when it said it had “no interest” in Korea.
In Asia, Tesla is currently located in Japan and Hong Kong, with Japan serving as its Asian headquarters.
Recently, Tesla was criticized for possibly safety violations after a number of its workers were burned during factory operations.
Some of the Model S sedans also came under fire for catching fire following collisions.
Tesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk, however, said the company would not be recalling the cars.
For Korea, Tesla may be yet another carmaker to supply electric car batteries to. Samsung SDI had earlier been cited as a promising bidder before Tesla made its announcement regarding Panasonic.
LG Chem reportedly walked out of the deal after failing to reach an agreement with Tesla on agreement conditions. (jemmie@heraldcorp.com) (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
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