Tesla’s new China-made Model 3 opens for pre-order with a 13% price cut

Tesla’s big bet on China-based production is key to a new effort to lure Chinese consumers with cheaper prices. Today the U.S. firm revealed that its incoming Model 3, which will be produced in China, will sell from 328,000 RMB — that’s around $47,500 and some 13 percent cheaper than its previous entry-level option.

The company opened pre-orders for the vehicle today, although it only broke ground on its Shanghai-based factory in January of this year. Customers who do plonk down cash for a pre-order this week — deposits start from 20,000 RM — can expect to receive their vehicle in 6-10 months, according to Tesla.

Despite the competitive prices, the higher spec Model 3 will continue to be shipped from the U.S, according to Reuters. The publication added that it isn’t clear if the made-in-China Tesla will qualify for EV subsidies from the government.

Beyond China, the Model 3 also went up for pre-order in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland and Macau, the company said.

The Shanghai plant is expected to produce 500,000 vehicles per year when it reaches full production. The factory began hiring workers this month after job listings were published online, while videos and photos of the factory taken by Tesla enthusiasts suggest that it is nearing completion.

While it isn’t clear what margins the China-produced vehicles will bring Tesla, local manufacturing will help it avoid challenges around shipping and pricing, an issue that has been exacerbated by the ongoing U.S-China trade war.



from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2MfRoGS

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Microsoft says it has no plans to add more backward compatible titles for Xbox One, but says Project Scarlett will run games from all four Xbox generations (Tom Warren/The Verge)

Internal docs: Facebook employees created a test account in 2019 and within days, it was recommended extreme and conspiratorial content, including QAnon Groups (Brandy Zadrozny/NBC News)

Facebook teases Project Cambria, a high-end mixed reality headset coming next year with cameras that allow high-resolution passthrough (Adi Robertson/The Verge)