Tesla's Shanghai Megafactory is scheduled to begin construction in the third quarter this year and start production in the second quarter of 2024, according to an April announcement.
(Image from Tesla China website)
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced in April that it would build a new Megafactory in Shanghai to produce the energy storage product Megapack. There has been no new information about the plan for the past five months, but now an executive has dropped some hints.
"We expect to start building the Megafactory for energy storage products in the near future, and the products will be mainly used for export," Xinhua quoted Tesla China president Allan Wang (Wang Hao) as saying in a report today.
Tesla participated in the China International Fair For Trade in Services being held in Beijing, and gave the revamped Model 3 its real-life debut in China.
Wang gave an interview to Xinhua on the sidelines of the event, though didn't mention anything more about the Megafactory.
Tesla signed a deal with Shanghai's Lingang authorities on April 9 to build a new Megafactory in the area, which will be dedicated to the production of Tesla's energy storage product Megapack.
The Megafactory will be Tesla's first energy storage system factory outside of the US market, with an initial planned annual production capacity of up to 10,000 commercial energy storage batteries and nearly 40 GWh of energy storage, with products to be offered to the global market.
The factory is scheduled to begin construction in the third quarter of this year and go into production in the second quarter of 2024, according to an announcement by Lingang special area administration in April.
While Wang didn't mention much more about the Megafactory, some other comments are worth noting.
When Tesla entered the Chinese market in 2014, few people would choose to buy an EV, but less than 10 years later, people are no longer skeptical about the development of new energy vehicles (NEVs), Wang said.
Speaking of the increasing number of foreign traditional car companies that have started to partner with Chinese NEV companies and battery companies, Wang said traditional automakers need to get local cooperation and support if they want to gain a foothold in China's NEV market.
More than 95 percent of the parts supply for Tesla's Shanghai factory comes from local partners, including about 360 Tier 1 suppliers, Wang said, adding that Tesla has helped about 60 of them enter the international market.
These Chinese companies have grown with Tesla, and Tesla is moving forward with these companies from idea to realization of loading to vehicles, he said.
Tesla's revamped Model 3 makes real-life China debut at Beijing trade fair
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