Tesla to Start Exporting China-Made Model 3 Cars to Europe

(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. will start exporting Model 3 electric cars made at its factory on the outskirts of Shanghai to Europe starting later this month, the automaker said in a statement.

The car will be shipped to more than 10 countries, including Germany, France and Switzerland, Tesla said. The company’s Shanghai plant — its first outside the U.S. — opened for local deliveries at the start of this year.

“We hope to serve global customers as a global factory,” said Song Gang, Tesla’s Shanghai manufacturing director, in an interview with local reporters. “The export of China-built Tesla models is a key step in the global layout.”

The Shanghai factory has helped Tesla expand in China, and the company said it has capacity to produce 200,000 vehicles a year there. It delivered nearly 11,000 locally built cars in China in September.

Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said at an event in Germany last November that Tesla also plans to set up a factory and an engineering-and-design center near Berlin.

People familiar with the matter said last month that Tesla plans to ship cars from Shanghai to other countries in Asia and Europe. China-built Model 3s for delivery outside the country are likely to start mass production in the fourth quarter, the people said at the time, adding that the markets targeted included Singapore, Australia and New Zealand as well as Europe.

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