ELON Musk’s Tesla brand has opened a pop-up shop and confirmed an official approved body shop partner in Northern Ireland.
It comes as the Irish News revealed earlier this month that the US electric vehicle maker has acquired a site in Belfast’s Boucher Road for its first base in the north.
Tesla handed over its first new cars to four customers at its pop-up collection facility at Porters’ Bodyshop in Portadown (a repair centre for around 20 prestigious car marques including Mercedes-Benz and Audi).
Porters’ managing director Colin Porter said: “Welcoming Tesla has been an absolute pleasure as has been the interactions with many of its thousands of customers who have made the transition to electric power – a trend that’s set to stay and grow much larger.
“It’s taken a year to get everything in place and become an officially approved body shop and collection pop-up shop, but it’s been hugely rewarding and a major achievement for us.”
Tesla has become a top ten seller in the UK and Ireland this year with business customers latching onto the zero carbon emissions and zero company car tax benefits.
South African-born Anton Marnitz, Tesla’s representative in Ireland, added: “As a company operating at the pinnacle of technical innovation, we chose Porters as our official approved centre of excellence because its core business values reflect our own.”
Porters’ Bodyshop is a third-generation business that has seen Colin Porter succeed as managing director from his father Jim and grandfather Cyril.
Tesla, the world’s most valuable car manufacturer, already operates a service centre in Dublin and 10 in Britain. It’s planning to double that number, with Belfast now set to join the list of active sites.
