China, the world’s largest automotive market, is an export hub for foreign automakers entering the era of electrification.
Tesla exported 97,182 electric cars from its Shanghai plant in the first part of the year, more than double the number last year.
The automaker said the cars had been shipped to Europe, Australia, Japan, Singapore and other markets.
They accounted for about a third of the Shanghai plant’s production from January to June, and nearly a portion of China’s new car exports in the same period, according to the China Passenger Vehicle Association.
Grace Tao, vice president of Tesla China, told reporters in June that the Shanghai plant is the company’s most vital production and export hub in the world, calling Tesla cars made in Shanghai “the business card of Chinese manufacturing. “
Tao said more than a portion of Tesla’s global deliveries in 2021 were made from the Shanghai plant. The plant is also the first completely foreign-owned car production plant in the country.
Exports are expected to rise further, as Tesla has increased its annual production capacity at the Shanghai plant to 750,000 vehicles per year, the largest in its global production network.
Martin Heung, a China electric vehicle analyst at Nomura, a Japan-based money service provider, said it was because China had developed a robust production system.
“Making a car has nothing to do with making a coat. Automotive production requires a long chain that goes from glass and interior fabrics to electric motors and chips, especially batteries,” he said.
“Over the past decade, China has built a strong trade chain. Chinese battery manufacturers, like their rivals in South Korea and Japan, have great merit due to their production volume.
Top-of-the-line German automaker BMW has turned its Shenyang plant in Liaoning province into the only production of its iX3 electric gaming application vehicle, a popular style sold worldwide.
The automaker and its partner, Great Wall Motors, are making a 5100 million yuan ($755. 3 million) investment in their joint venture in Jiangsu province to produce Mini electric vehicles. The first batch is expected to roll off the meeting line in 2023.
Nicolas Peter, member of the BMW Board on Funding Rate, underlined the strategic importance of its partnership with the Chinese company at the launch of the joint venture.
“This underscores the enormous importance of the Chinese market to us and our confidence in China’s wonderful trade dynamics,” Peter said.
He added that the cars are only for Chinese customers. “We produce in China, for China, as well as for the rest of the world,” he said.
The first electric styling of Mercedes’ Smart brand left the meeting line in China. The German automaker is working with China’s Geely to explore the potential of its Smart brand.
The model, called Smart #1, made at a factory in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, evolved based on Geely’s electric vehicle architecture, while Mercedes is guilty of the styling.
“We are creating a circle of relatives of electric cars as part of our renovation efforts,” said Tong Xiangbei, chief executive of Smart Automobile Co, a joint venture between Mercedes and Geely.
Tong said the company puts China and Europe at the center of its global strategy. In Europe, Smart will be in The Mercedes Showrooms.
“Initially, we will have three hundred outlets in 14 European markets, in addition to the UK and Switzerland,” Tong said, adding that Smart is working with Malaysian automaker Proton to introduce the logo in Southeast Asia.