Tesla has expanded it touchless test drives to Europe, but has now taken it a step further with the opening of a dedicated remote test drive hub in Örebro, Sweden.
Tesla first started offering touchless test drives in North America after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of an effort to still allow customers to get behind the wheel of a Tesla. The strategy still involved the use of existing showrooms for potential customers to visit, but eliminated many touchpoints between staff and public, with the cars also being sanitized between test drives.
The touchless test drives eventually expanded to setting up cars at Superchargers and other non-Tesla locations. Customers could scan a QR code on the dashboard and take a car on a test drive almost immediately, or sign up on Tesla’s website to reserve a time slot later on. In these situations the car would be remotely unlocked by Tesla staff at another location, you would get a quick talk of what to do, and then you could leave for a 30 minute test drive.
Now Tesla is bringing remote test drives to Europe, and taking it a step further. On Monday the official Tesla Europe Twitter account announced the opening of a remote test drive hub in Sweden.
https://twitter.com/tesla_europe/status/1637833059264344066
Unlike the remote test drives in North America, Tesla has put up a dedicated building just for this remote test drive hub. From the photo the building is basic with enough parking spot for four Tesla cars and Wall Connectors installed to keep them charged up. There is no office space as there are no employees on site.
According to a follow up tweet, the process at this remote test drive hub in Sweden is the same as in North America. “Book appointment at tesla.com → call us when you’ve arrived → we remotely unlock the vehicle for you & walk you through the basics → test drive for 30 mins → drop off vehicle at the same location,” Tesla explained.
Tesla didn’t say exactly where this hub is located but based on the photo it appears to be in the parking lot of a busy retail shopping area, meaning thousands of potential customers will be seeing this remote test drive hub every day.
This remote test drive process, along with being able to purchase the car online without having to deal with annoying sales staff, is yet another blow to legacy auto and their antiquated dealership model.
