Tesla rolls out city-made vehicles
Print Edition
TESLA yesterday delivered the first batch of Model 3 vehicles, built at its Shanghai factory, moving the US electric carmaker one step closer to mass production in China.
The company delivered a total of 15 vehicles to employees at its Gigafactory 3 plant in Shanghai. Tesla also said that it plans to ramp up Model 3 deliveries in January. Sales are expected to start early next year too.
Tesla broke ground on its Shanghai factory on January 7 this year, becoming the first to benefit from a new policy allowing foreign automakers to set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in China.
Tesla said that the second batch of locally produced Model 3 vehicles will soon be delivered to customers and probably ahead of the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.
The company said the delivery for the second batch of cars may also be done from its Shanghai plant.
The China-made Model 3 vehicles, with autopilot functions, are priced at 355,800 yuan (US$50,000) before subsidies. Imported Model 3 vehicles start at 439,000 yuan for the longer-range version.
On January 7 this year, Tesla officially broke ground in Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. It is Tesla’s first super factory outside the US and the first wholly foreign-owned car manufacturing project in China. It applied the highest production standards and the most advanced fully automated production lines.
About 11 months after the construction began, Tesla’s Shanghai factory entered trial production and the company started pre-orders for locally produced Model 3 vehicles on its official website. Twenty days later, the first batch of Tesla Model 3 sedans entered into stores nationwide to provide consumers a chance for a test drive.
The Shanghai plant was up and running in just 357 days. The delivery time was way ahead of the first quarter of 2020 promised by Tesla.
The electric carmaker said that was because the production process was smoother than expected. Tesla said that “no difficulties were encountered and the vehicles were delivered at the pace.”
Tesla also thanked the Shanghai government for its support and assistance.
The company also said it has moved forward quickly thanks to its breakthrough in its original management model.
Shanghai has worked closely with Tesla to speed up construction of the factory and creating a good business environment for enterprises.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the work of Tesla’s China team during his visit to the city in August and said that “Tesla’s Shanghai factory is progressing at a great speed. Tesla’s China team has done an amazing job and I’m astounded that so much progress has been made for the Shanghai Gigafactory.”
Tesla hopes to produce 1,000 cars a week at the Shanghai plant soon, eventually ramping up to an annual production of 150,000 vehicles a year. The company said that currently all the locally-made sedans made in Gigafactory 3 are considered sold, including the ones transported to delivery centers and waiting in the factory’s parking lot.
Tesla’s locally produced Model 3 vehicles will compete with local electric carmakers, including Chinese electric car startups NIO and Xpeng Motors, as well as global brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
At the delivery event at the Shanghai plant yesterday, one of the new 15 Tesla Model 3 owners proposed to his girlfriend.
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