Tesla Prepares Leasing Unit in Shanghai

Tesla Inc. is setting up a wholly owned leasing unit in Shanghai, Reuters reports.

China’s National Enterprise Information Publicity System says the new company is being capitalized at $30 million. The move comes a month after Tesla began collecting 8,000-yen ($1,200) deposits from Chinese consumers for the carmaker’s new Model 3 midsize electric sedan.

Tesla also is preparing to erect a $2 billion factory in Shanghai to make electric cars and the batteries to propel them. The facility is expected to have annual capacity to build a combined 250,000 Model 3 and upcoming Model Y small crossovers when it opens two years from now.

Tesla is pursuing a separate scheme that would enable it to establish a temporary assembly site in China that could make as many as 3,000 Model 3s per week.