TESLA Inc. said Friday it plans to start delivering Model 3 cars to customers in China in March, cementing a time frame that the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker’s chief executive, Elon Musk, tweeted about late last year. The California-based firm, which aims to accelerate Chinese sales that have been hit hard by the impact of trade tensions, said in a statement the starting price for a Model 3 in China would be 499,000 yuan (US$72,000). Tesla cut prices for its Model 3 last month, the third time in the last two months for the firm to adjust prices in China. In November, Tesla cut the prices of its Model X and Model S in China by 12 to 26 percent. Tesla has opened a tender process to build a US$2 billion plant in Shanghai — dubbed a Gigafactory — and at least one contractor has started buying materials, reports said earlier last month. The automaker has said it aims to initially produce about 3,000 Model 3 vehicles per week at the plant and localize its manufacturing and supply chain. The factory, Tesla’s first in China, marks a major bet by the EV maker as it looks to bolster its presence in the world’s biggest auto market where it faces rising competition from a swathe of domestic rivals, while its earnings have been hit by increased tariffs on U.S. imports. The company has also registered a financial leasing company in China. It has opened a wholly-owned financial leasing unit in Shanghai’s free trade zone with registered capital of US$30 million, according to China’s National Enterprise Information Publicity System.(SD-Agencies) |