Right hand drive Model S or X

bullgates · Oct 7, 2014

Hello All,

Is it possible to order a right hand drive MS or MX in the United States? Any input is appreciated.

Make it a good day.

tga · Oct 7, 2014

bullgates said:
Hello All,

Is it possible to order a right hand drive MS or MX in the United States? Any input is appreciated.

Make it a good day.

Why? Rural mail carrier? My old mailman used a RHD Outback. Apparently they offered them to rural mail carriers who used their own car.

(To answer your question, I have no idea)

bullgates · Oct 7, 2014

I just talked with a local rep and they said it was not possible to order a RHD MS. EU build different than US build and so forth. Seems silly considering they roll of the same line and custom build options.

Saghost · Oct 7, 2014

bullgates said:
I just talked with a local rep and they said it was not possible to order a RHD MS. EU build different than US build and so forth. Seems silly considering they roll of the same line and custom build options.

There are a bunch of subtle differences in the EU build (3 phase charger and modified Mennekes connector off the top of my head) - but they build the EU version in right and left drive - and I think the Japanese cars they are building now should be right hand drive with US charging, right?
Walter

astrotoy · Oct 7, 2014

Hong Kong, is RHD also.

Saghost · Oct 7, 2014

astrotoy said:
Hong Kong, is RHD also.

What kind of chargers does Hong Kong have, though?

I thought China used European power standards, so I assumed the cars delivered there would have the three phase chargers and modified Mennekes charge ports, which won't match American UMC, HPWC, or Superchargers outlets.
Walter

breser · Oct 7, 2014

Saghost said:
What kind of chargers does Hong Kong have, though?

I thought China used European power standards, so I assumed the cars delivered there would have the three phase chargers and modified Mennekes charge ports, which won't match American UMC, HPWC, or Superchargers outlets.
Walter

They have Mennekes Type 2 charge ports. I know this because I got the China and Hong Kong manuals with my HPWC by mistake (manual said "Approved Markets: Mainland China, Hong Kong" and has a picture that shows the Mennekes output port).

meloccom · Oct 7, 2014

Saghost said:
What kind of chargers does Hong Kong have, though?

I thought China used European power standards, so I assumed the cars delivered there would have the three phase chargers and modified Mennekes charge ports, which won't match American UMC, HPWC, or Superchargers outlets.
Walter

Hong Kong chargers are definitely Mennekes. I have one in my garage as they are supplying Hong Kong wall connectors to Australian Model S customers whilst they develop a specific version for Australia. Hong Kong and Australia are 240V being ex-British colonies.
I think a Japanese spec car would be the closest to what the OP would need but even then there would be differences.
Can I ask the OP why they need a RHD US version Model S?

romp · Oct 7, 2014

The question remains: what's the goal of this exercise?

RHD models are designed to comply with UK-HK-JP-AU-NZ-IN, etc. laws. Most obvious of them is headlights: not only the light pattern is oriented to prevent blinding the oncoming traffic to the RIGHT of the car, but also the amount and the height of the bright spot needs to adhere to different standards. This is one of the reasons why it's not entirely straightforward to import mainland EU cars to US (and vice-versa), if they're not designed according to both regulations. Also, the 25 year thing.

tga · Oct 8, 2014

romp said:
The question remains: what's the goal of this exercise?

RHD models are designed to comply with UK-HK-JP-AU-NZ-IN, etc. laws. Most obvious of them is headlights: not only the light pattern is oriented to prevent blinding the oncoming traffic to the RIGHT of the car, but also the amount and the height of the bright spot needs to adhere to different standards. This is one of the reasons why it's not entirely straightforward to import mainland EU cars to US (and vice-versa), if they're not designed according to both regulations. Also, the 25 year thing.

What "25 year thing"?

Saghost · Oct 8, 2014

I thought the 25 year thing was to get around emissions and crash testing requirements; the emissions is of course a non-issue in this case, and I wouldn't think the bumpers and such are different enough to cause an issue in this case.

The headlights are a good point - any RHD model will be designed assuming it was going to be driven on the left, so to get a RHD car for the US you'd want to replace the headlight assemblies (or the cutoff plates if you can get them) with LHD ones.
Walter

skis · Oct 8, 2014

romp said:
The question remains: what's the goal of this exercise?

It could be a question from an ex-pat / military / diplomatic / international-organisation type employee currently living in the U.S. (perhaps with a favourable tax situation) who wants to buy a car at the price they can get in the US to take home soon, so an RHD vehicle spec that's usable short-term in the U.S. and long term at home would be needed in that case.

I've seen car vendors with dedicated sales channels for this sort of thing, and it works both ways, eg with U.S. service personnel able to buy cheap vehicles in Europe to take home.

hiroshiy · Oct 8, 2014

Maybe Japanese cars are the closest to what he wants, but I don't know the regulation differences. Japanese MS = RHD, US style connector. We use the same HPWC and J1772 adapters as the U.S.

tga · Oct 8, 2014

skis said:
It could be a question from an ex-pat / military / diplomatic / international-organisation type employee currently living in the U.S. (perhaps with a favourable tax situation) who wants to buy a car at the price they can get in the US to take home soon, so an RHD vehicle spec that's usable short-term in the U.S. and long term at home would be needed in that case.

I've seen car vendors with dedicated sales channels for this sort of thing, and it works both ways, eg with U.S. service personnel able to buy cheap vehicles in Europe to take home.

A friend of mine in business school did this. He was from South Korea, bought a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo while here in the US, and shipped it back to South Korea when he went home after graduation. Turns out the car was either hard to get or much more expensive back home.

romp · Oct 8, 2014

tga said:
What "25 year thing"?

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/faq%20site/pages/page2.html said:
8. Importing a vehicle that is at least 25 years old.
A motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old can be lawfully imported into the U.S. without regard to whether it complies with all applicable FMVSS.

....

11. Importing a right-hand drive vehicle.

In order to be lawfully manufactured or imported for sale in the U.S., a motor vehicle must comply with all applicable FMVSS issued by NHTSA. It is possible for a right-hand drive (RHD) vehicle to be manufactured in compliance with the FMVSS.

A motor vehicle that was not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable FMVSS, and/or was not so certified by its original manufacturer, in the form of a label permanently affixed to the vehicle, cannot be lawfully imported into the U.S. unless it is determined eligible for importation by NHTSA.

and the list of "RHD vehicles manufactured in compliance with the FMVSS" is _very_ short: Bentley Azure 1998 and Honda Accord 1994-97. I read somewhere that it also includes Jeep Cherokee, but can't quickly find legal references to it (lots of re-importers, though)

bullgates · Oct 8, 2014

A lot of people in my family are or have been rural mail carriers and I was wondering about the viability of the MS or MX in those regards.

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