CHINA will exempt Tesla Inc.’s electric vehicles from its purchase tax, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Friday, a concession made amidst trade tensions with the United States.

Tesla sees China as one of its most important, growing markets, and the exemption from a 10 percent purchase tax could reduce the cost of buying a Tesla by up to 99,000 yuan (US$13,957.82), according to a post on Tesla’s social media WeChat account.

Sixteen variants — all the Tesla models sold in the country — are listed on a document issued by MIIT on its website, including Model S, X and 3.

No reason was given for the decision to exclude the cars from the tax, but it comes as Tesla is expanding in China, with a new factory and visits by chief executive officer Elon Musk.

Tesla’s plant in Shanghai will be its first overseas factory, and the company is gearing up for a major Chinese sales push by promoting racing events, showroom parties with DJs and a line of Chinese Tesla stickers for chat apps.

Musk has met with senior leaders, including China’s Vice President Wang Qishan, and the transportation minister.

He also has publicly praised China in the midst of tensions with the United States, thanking the Shanghai and national governments for support, calling national leaders “very thoughtful” and describing China’s “amazing” progress in sustainable energy, transport and space.

While the company does not disclose sales by country, consultancy firm LMC Automotive estimates sales of 23,678 Tesla vehicles in China in the first seven months this year, nearly double the number of cars it sold a year earlier.(SD-Agencies)