The EV major Tesla has begun to take orders for its Model 3 sedan in China for a deposit of CNY 8,000 ($1,153.60 or about Rs. 83,000). However, the company declined to comment on the development.
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk stated, “Probably some deliveries in March, but April is more certain“, after a Twitter user asked when the deliveries in China would begin.
The company has been banking on its Model 3 sedan. The performance of the car is seen crucial to the carmaker’s future. Shares of Tesla rose 1.6 percent at $353.93 (roughly Rs. 25,500) in morning trading.
Talking about China, it has been the largest market for electric vehicles and most forecasters predict that its sales in the country will speed up rapidly as government regulation drives toward a goal of 100 percent electric vehicles by 2030.
Also, the company had signed a deal with Shanghai authorities in July to build its first factory outside the United States, which would cost around $2 billion (around Rs. 14,400 crores) to construct and would double the size of its global manufacturing.
Along with this, Tesla is also developing plans to start producing about 3,000 Model 3s per week in Shanghai in the initial phase of its Gigafactory 3 to reduce the impact of tariffs.