Tesla is building a new factory in Shanghai, China to ramp up production of its energy storage product, the Megapack.
According to Tesla, each Megapack is capable of storing more than 3 megawatts of energy, enough to power an average of 3,600 homes for an hour.
The new site, which should be operational in the second quarter of 2024, will have an initial production of 10,000 units per year. Megapacks made in China will be sold worldwide. In a tweet about the Shanghai factory, Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk said the new site would complement production at its plant in California, USA.
Tesla’s second industrial site in China
Construction of the plant is expected to start in the third quarter of this year, according to local media. Plans to build the new factory were announced after Tesla signed an agreement with the Lin-gang special zone administration in Shanghai on Sunday, the state-run newspaper reported. China Daily. Lin-gang Special Zone is specialized as a new energy storage industrial hub for Shanghai and China.
Citing a statement from Tesla, the newspaper added that the US electric car maker would continue to invest in China through a “wider range of products and services”.
Home to Tesla’s first Gigafactory outside the United States, Shanghai began producing Tesla Model 3 cars in 2019. The Chinese site currently produces 20,000 cars a week.
Intel is also expanding in China
A Canalys report published last month indicates that China is the world’s largest electric car market, accounting for 59% of all units sold in 2022. Over 5.9 million electric vehicles have been sold in the Asian market , including 2.4 million in the first half alone. Europe, with a 26% share, was the second largest market last year, while the United States accounted for just 9% of global sales.
An article from the Chinese state media GlobalTimes described this latest contract between Tesla and China as a further indication of the “confidence” of American companies in investing in China. The article refers to Intel’s new office for its IC business in Sanya, China’s Hainan province, which officially opened over the weekend.
The U.S. chipmaker’s new site will oversee “international trade, technology services and equity investment activities,” the report said. GlobalTimes, citing a statement from Intel. The Sanya office will also be Intel Capital’s headquarters in China.
Source: ZDNet.com