It's the car that created scenes you might associate with the release of the newest smartphone, with queues of people sleeping outside dealerships across North America waiting for the doors to open. Now, the Tesla Model 3 has arrived in Abu Dhabi.
Promoted as the affordable, fully electric alternative to conventional motoring, the Model 3 has disrupted the world of conventional automotive manufacturers, and Tesla's approach to selling cars in the UAE is no different. For the next six months, the Model 3 – alongside Tesla's other cars, such as the Model S and the Model X – will be on display at a new pop-up showroom at Yas Mall.
The pop-up opened last week, replacing one in Dubai, and will reappear in various locations across the UAE every six months. For now, the Tesla range is attracting plenty of attention in the capital, with the Model 3 taking pride of place on Yas Island.
It’s a smaller, simpler and more affordable version of its predecessors. Designed and built as the world’s first mass-market electric car, it’s a key model in Tesla’s range that takes on the mid-sized luxury European cars with a fully electric powertrain.
Tesla claims that about 140,000 of them have been delivered to customers in the US, making it the best-selling premium vehicle in America last year.
Tesla says is hopes the Abu Dhabi showroom will generate similar levels of excitement when it starts to deliver cars later this year. An option on Tesla's website currently allows customers to make Dh4,000 deposits to reserve their Model 3.
Standard features in the car include full self-driving hardware, supercharging capability, a 38-centimetre touchscreen display, Wi-Fi and LTE internet connectivity, a full-length glass roof, and an eight-year, 160,000-kilometre battery warranty. Optional extras include 20-inch alloy wheels in place of the standard 19-inch rims, while the Model 3 also comes with up to nine cameras built in.
Its interior is spacious thanks to the lack of mechanical components, and allows the cabin to be situated further forward, while the floor pan is free from a transmission tunnel, offering more space. Boot space is also generous, with plenty of room up front where a petrol motor would normally be.
Tesla also says the Dh170,000 Model 3 has a range of 352km and can accelerate to 100kph in 5.8 seconds.
