Tesla Inc is seeking approval in China to offer a new China-made Model 3 with a longer driving range, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The current China-made Model 3 has a standard driving range of more than 400 kilometers. The new variant would be a rear-wheel drive vehicle like the current model, the report said citing a source familiar with the matter.
Tesla started delivering cars in December from its Shanghai factory. In the meantime it also sells longer range imported Model 3s with all-wheel drive in China.
A Bloomberg report later said Tesla is seeking approval to produce a Model 3 that’s about 130 kilograms heavier than the basic versions of the ones it produces now.
Tesla produced 2,625 Model 3s in January before the Lunar New Year holiday on January 25, which ranks fifth in China's electric vehicle industry, according to Teslarati.
The data confirms the approximate rate of 1,000 per week on a single shift, the report said. Before the end of 2019, Tesla that it had been producing 280 vehicles per 10-hour shift, but it planned to raise this number to reach its 3,000-per-week-target. This would require just below 430 vehicles per shift.
