Tesla Motors will increase its workforce in Hong Kong to meet the Chinese city's growing demand for electric cars.
The automaker's workforce will be doubled, and it will include over 100 people by the end of 2014, according to BusinessWeek. The Hong Kong government said in a statement that Tesla has hired a country director for the city in order to meet this goal.
The move presents an opportunity for Hong Kong drivers to save energy, as the government said drivers will only need to charge their vehicles once a week, since the territory's main island is less than 10 miles wide.
Veronica Wu, vice president of Tesla's operations in China, said the city has the potential to show the rest of Asia the benefits of driving electric cars, BusinessWeek reported. She compared Hong Kong to Norway, which is currently responsible for 6 percent of the battery electric car market.
"We want Hong Kong to be the Norway of Asia," Wu said. "The Hong Kong Government is very open to the idea of electric vehicles and very committed to supporting sustainability."
Elon Musk, billionaire and CEO of Tesla, is looking to increase sales in China to equal its business in the U.S. by early 2015, and plans to do so by establishing more dealerships and charging stations, BusinessWeek reported. The company has already started delivering its Model S to Hong Kong and China.
The Hong Kong workforce expansion is only one of Tesla's objectives, which include producing 100,000 premium electric cars by late 2015 and selling at least 500,000 around the world every year.
