Tesla has been teasing China its very own locally produced cars ever since it inaugurated its Shanghai facility in January 2019. The Elon Musk headed company has been pouring cash into the expansion of the plant, all while parts of it are working to introduce its first ever non U.S. made cars. Last week, Tesla announced that they could be launching China made Model 3 cars by the first week of January and to add to the excitement, they have announced another new year gift for its Chinese clientele.
The company announced a price cut on Model 3 cars produced in its Shanghai gigafactory, largely due to subsidies provided by the Chinese government for electric vehicles. After the cut, each car will cost 299,050 yuan ($42,919). This is a 16% cut from the earlier 355,800 yuan, with the company getting 24,750 yuan in subsidies on each car. Other factors for the cut include changes in sales policy in China including tweaking prices for car accessories and home charging facilities.
The cars will roll out for the public on 7 Jan, according to Tesla. While the plant started operating about an year ago, it is still not complete as the company looks to expand it to bore more functionality. The company recently took out a $1.4 billion loan from Chinese banks, all of which is speculated to be reserved for the facility.
The company plans to completely localise production in China by the end of 2020. As of yet, only 30% of the production process happens in China, forcing the company to ship parts resulting in higher costs of production. Prices of Tesla cars in China can go down even further if the company succeeds in its agenda.
The company also plans to double service centres and fast charging stations in the country in 2020.
So far, the sales for the car have been “very good” as per the company’s executive, with a claim of 280 cars being produced every day.
