Tesla has been added to a government list of approved automotive manufacturers in China, granting the manufacturing certificate that the electric vehicle maker needs to start production in the country.
The list was published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. You can check the full list here.
Tesla has completed construction of the parts of its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai that will be dedicated to producing automobiles.
Now it has begun work on “phase 2” of the factory, which will house a battery manufacturing facility, according to a Global Times report.
Last summer, Tesla announced it would use battery cells sourced from LG Chem for the battery packs used in the Model 3 sedans built in Shanghai.
It also indicated it was open to using battery cells made by CATL or Panasonic in the future as well.
The implication is the company does not intend to manufacture its own battery cells but will be responsible for making its own battery packs, presumably in the part of the new factory that is now under construction.
Tesla Model 3 and Model X demand are skyrocketing in China, especially since the Chinese government gave a 10% car purchase tax exemption to Tesla last month — a sign of aggressive electric vehicle policy implementation by China.
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