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Tesla Starts Building Its Second Gigafactory in Shanghai, To Double China Capacity

China is on the way of becoming the main production hub for Tesla, as the American EV maker will start building its second gigafactory. The work on the second facility will start as early as next month, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Tesla builds a second gigafactory in Shanghai 13 photos
Photo: Tesla
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Tesla is not making much progress with Giga Berlin, a final approval being hindered by scarce water resources in the region. Nevertheless, Elon Musk appears unfazed and willing to take its business elsewhere if Germany proves unpracticable. With or without Giga Berlin, Tesla will double its production capacity in China, and the expansion work is said to begin next month.

To be sure, this would be more than an expansion of the existing facility, and sources consulted by Reuters confirmed a second gigafactory is in the making. The second plant will be built close to the existing Giga Shanghai in Lingang, Pudong New Area. Once the new plant will be fully operational, Tesla will have the capacity to produce two million vehicles per year in China. The figure surpasses the local production of many established carmakers, including Toyota (1.6 million vehicles produced in China in 2021), and GM (1.4 million).

It is not clear when the Giga Shanghai 2 will come online, but the first Tesla Gigafactory in China (known as Gigafactory 3) started production less than a year after breaking ground. Tesla builds Model 3 and Model Y at Giga Shanghai, and has plans to raise the weekly production to 22,000 vehicles in the coming months. This means the existing facility will be on track to build 1.1 million vehicles per year, more than double the plant’s original projected capacity.

Tesla received special treatment from the Chinese government when it first came to China, being the first foreign carmaker not required to form a joint venture with a Chinese partner. Giga Shanghai has become the crown jewel of Tesla’s empire and also its main production hub. Around half of the 936,000 vehicles delivered globally were made in China. Besides, Tesla used the Chinese factory to implement the newest technologies before they rolled out to the other production facilities in the U.S.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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