Tesla begins deliveries of Chinese-made Model Y crossover to world’s largest car market



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The electric car maker announced the new on Twitter Monday, posting photos of the purchased SUV at a company showroom.
Model Y is the second vehicle You’re here (TSLA) manufactured and sold in China, after model 3 deliveries began last year. Both lines are produced at the company’s sprawling Gigafactory in Shanghai, where manufacturing began in 2019.

The Model Y starts at 339,900 yuan ($ 52,400) for the “long range ”, and 369,900 yuan ($ 57,000) for the“ performance ”version.

Deliveries began Monday in cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuhan, the company said in a Chinese social media post. To help customers feel more comfortable, staff also packaged a “virus prevention” kit in new vehicles, which included bottles of hand sanitizer, he added.

Go big in China

China has increasingly become a critical part of Tesla’s global strategy, with CEO Elon Musk calling his factory there a “model for future growth.”

In 2019, the company exceeded its own deadline to start manufacturing cars in China, entering trial production just 10 months after entering the factory. This reinforced the confidence that the company had the ability to meet its delivery goals as it grew.

Tesla said the Shanghai plant’s initial goal was to manufacture 250,000 cars per year, before increasing to 500,000 units. He revealed last October that he had achieved this first goal, while “continuing to increase” his capacity significantly.

The company was also the first foreign automaker to be allowed to open a factory in the country without a Chinese partner, which put pressure on local players.

Tesla had previously obtained tax relief for some of its cars, which helped make its prices more attractive to customers. It also lowered the price of its Model 3 to benefit from government subsidies.
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The debut of the Chinese-made Model Y has been eagerly awaited, with the launch seen as another challenge for its Chinese rival. Nio (NIO), which sells its own line of electric SUVs.
Tesla has recently relied more on its Chinese operations, including last October’s decision to start exporting Chinese-made vehicles to Europe.
It also plans to push further elsewhere in Asia, including a launch in India expected to take place this year.

Meanwhile, the Chinese auto market is expected to become even more crucial in the coming years. “By 2022, we think [more than 40%] of Tesla’s overall delivery sales could come from China, as that remains the main growth region going forward, followed by Europe, then the United States, ”Wedbush analysts wrote in a note last week .

– Serenitie Wang contributed to this report.



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