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Tesla to Produce 550K Vehicles in Shanghai Gigafactory

November 10, 2020 2:43 am

Beijing (PingWest)—Tesla plans to produce 550,000 vehicles in the Shanghai Gigafactory by 2021, of which 300,000 will be Model 3 sedans, according to Chinese tech news outlet 36Kr. The remaining 250,000 will be comprised of the Model Y crossover, which is expected to be mass-produced at Gigafactory Shanghai in early 2021. 

For 2020, Tesla’s goal was to make 150,000 units, which now seems small compared to the larger goal planned for next year. 

The US EV manufacturer raised its expectations because it is about to complete the second phase of construction of the Shanghai plant, and made-in-China Tesla will be exported to Europe.

It’s less expensive to build a Model 3 in China than in America.“Compared with the American version, the production cost of the Chinese Tesla Model 3 has dropped by 20% to 28%,” Sofya Bakhta, a marketing strategy analyst at Daxue Consulting, told CNN Business.

“Of the 550,000 units, about 100,000 Model 3 units are for export, and Model Y also plans to export 10,000 units,” 36Kr reported, citing people familiar with the plan.

Last month, Tesla was reportedly planning to ship at least 7,000 cars from its Shanghai factory to Europe. They are scheduled to arrive at a port in Belgium sometime this month. Customers in Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, and Sweden will receive these cars.

During Tesla’s 2020 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, said that Shanghai factory could eventually produce 1 million vehicles a year.