Mexican Media Brands
Tesla Reiterates Plan to Make EVs in China, Eventually
Tesla Motors Inc. says it is negotiating in China to begin building its electric vehicles there.
#hybrid
Share
Tesla Motors Inc. says it is negotiating in China to begin building its electric vehicles there. CEO Elon Musk says local production would lower the price of Tesla cars sold in the country by about one-third.
Tesla’s Model S electric sedan has a U.S. base price of $75,000. The cheapest model offered in China retails for about 673,000 yuan ($106,200). Tesla attributes the difference to shipping cost and local import tariffs.
Musk said earlier this year that Tesla might begin making cars in China within three years. He reiterated that timetable on Monday. Musk says the company won’t consider Chinese production until its $35,000 Model 3 electric sedan debuts in about two years.
In the meantime, Tesla presumably would need to find a local production partner. That's because current Chinese regulations prohibit foreign carmakers from owning more than 50% of their production operations in the country.
Tesla currently sources cars for China from its factory in California. The company also performs final assembly work at a facility in the Netherlands for cars sold in Europe.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Study: Nearly 60% of EV Sales in 2035 Will Be in China
Global demand for electric vehicles will multiply by a factor of 15 to 11.3 million units by 2035, with the Chinese market generating 57% of the total, according to the Fuji-Keizai Group.
-
Chevy Develops eCOPO Camaro: The Fast and the Electric
The notion that electric vehicles were the sort of thing that well-meaning professors who wear tweed jackets with elbow patches drove in order to help save the environment was pretty much annihilated when Tesla added the Ludicrous+ mode to the Model S which propelled the vehicle from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds.
-
Electric Trucks Emerging
Rudolph Diesel—who, incidentally, died mysteriously while traveling by a post office steamer on the English Channel in 1913—must be rolling in his grave.