China: Tesla’s Model 3 factory ready for orders
Tesla has opened the order books in China for the Model 3, which the EV manufacturer will produce in its Shanghai plant, which is still under construction. The first deliveries of the Model 3 from local production are scheduled to start in six to ten months.
This is the Standard Range Plus version, which will be offered in China at gross prices starting at 328,000 yuan (just under 43,000 euros). This variant has a range of up to 460 kilometers. It is 49,000 yuan (just under 6,400 euros) cheaper to purchase than a Model 3 imported from the USA. Tesla said in a statement that the lower price makes “Tesla more accessible”. According to media reports, the Model 3 from Chinese production should correspond to the US version to a large extent.
With a delivery launch in six to ten months, Tesla will almost meet their own schedule. Production of the “Gigafactory 3” near Shanghai is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2019 – delivery is set to start in December 2019, just a few weeks after the production lines have started up.
Tesla only officially laid the foundation stone for the Gigafactory 3 in China at the beginning of January 2019. In the factory, not only batteries will be produced, but complete electric cars will also come off the assembly line. The plan is to complete the first stages of the construction work as early as this summer.
Initially, around 3,000 Model 3 vehicles per week will roll off the assembly line in China. At full capacity, the Californians plan to produce up to 500,000 vehicles per year there at a later date – primarily the Model 3 and later also the Model Y. Tesla’s China offensive also manifests itself in 60 Tesla locations, almost 1,500 Superchargers and more than 1,850 Destination Chargers, which have already been opened in China in recent years.
By building its cars locally, the automaker can avoid strict customs duties on imported vehicles. In addition, locally produced electric vehicles can be subsidized by the Chinese government.
Tesla also announced on Thursday via Twitter that the Model 3 can now also be ordered in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland and Macau. These are all countries with left-hand traffic.
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