Tesla to open latest UK showroom in Leeds this week

Tesla is opening its latest UK showroom at Victoria Quarter mall in an area of Leeds. This is in line with its trend to open showrooms only in upmarket areas and shopping centres across the country, in contrast to other car makers who usually tend to open their large showrooms and dealerships at standalone locations.

The reason for choosing such properties is that Tesla aims to attract a wider audience to its showrooms, especially women. Some of the other UK locations where the California headquartered company has its operational showrooms include, Westfield London, Oxford Street, the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, Touchwood Court centre, Solihull and Multrees Walk in Edinburgh among others. Including the proposed Leeds showroom, the electric car manufacturer will have a presence across 14 UK locations.

CBRE, a commercial property and real estate services adviser, is known to be advising Tesla on some store deals. Kevin Farrow of CBRE, said: "Tesla wants to develop their store portfolio in a retail environment where there is a clear link with other premium brands and where they can create a welcoming environment for all shoppers. The response has been quite extraordinary as you have had people coming in their lunch breaks and placing orders for cars that can cost more than £50,000 [€63,969, $71,968]."

Tesla is understood to be building the new showroom with a minimalist and inviting atmosphere. It will be aimed at creating a non-pressurised sales environment, where shoppers can step in to collect more information about its electric vehicles.

The staff in the Leeds showroom too will be different from the showroom staff of other car manufacturers. They are expected to be technical experts who can explain how Tesla's cars work, rather than regular sales people working on a commission-based pay structure. The reason for this is that Tesla's cars are electric and hence may require more "education" about their functionality.

The rollout of the Leeds showroom comes ahead of Tesla's big sales push as it prepares a Britain launch for its Model X vehicle, a gull-wing doored SUV that can accelerate 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds.

Tesla's charging network in the country has expanded to 113 locations across more than 30 areas, from Exeter to Edinburgh.

The electric cars maker, which has sold more than 107,000 vehicles across 42 countries till date, aims to achieve a worldwide sales target of between 80,000 and 90,000 in 2016, according to The Times.