Tesla confirmed this week it has begun trial production of the Model 3 at its new Gigafactory 3 factory in Shanghai, China, as it looks to strengthen its presence in the world's largest vehicle market.
Construction of the plant, which is located in the Lingang district of Shanghai, began just 10 months ago and is scheduled to begin commercial production by the end of the year. It will be the company's first overseas full production plant, with an initial capacity of 250,000 vehicles per year. It is also the first wholly foreign owned electric vehicle factory in China.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Tesla had previously said it would spend CNY50bn (US$7bn) on its Chinese operations, including expanding capacity to 500,000 units a year at the plant.
The company said it had started producing "full vehicles at the Gigafactory in Shanghai on a trial basis, from body, to paint and to general assembly", adding that it has "cleared the initial milestones towards obtaining a manufacturing licence" from the Chinese government and it was now working towards obtaining the licence ahead of ramping up production and deliveries.
Tesla sold an estimated 22,000 vehicles in China in the first eight months of the year, making this by far its largest single market outside the US.
The Model 3 imported from the US was its best seller in this period with over 14,400 deliveries.
Telsa has said it expected China to become the largest global market for the Model 3 once production was ramped up next year.
Last May the company began taking orders for the locally made Model 3 priced at US$47,500.
Next year the company is also expected to add the Model Y crossover to it local production line-up.
