China Focus: Tesla's new mega factory project in Shanghai officially launched

SHANGHAI, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. carmaker Tesla Inc. officially launched its new mega factory project that is capable of producing 10,000 Megapacks a year in Shanghai, the company announced.

A signing ceremony for land acquisition of the project was held on Friday morning in Shanghai, marking the official opening of what the company said a "milestone project."

Megapack is a powerful battery that provides energy storage and support, helping to stabilize the grid and prevent outages, information on Tesla's website shows.

The new project, located in the Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, is scheduled to break ground in the first quarter of 2024 and start production in the fourth quarter.

The factory will initially produce 10,000 Megapack units every year, equal to nearly 40 GWh of energy storage. The products will be sold worldwide.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Tao Lin, vice president of Tesla, said that the mega factory is "an important optimization of the company's global production layout."

"China has been continuously improving its level of opening up in recent years, and Tesla is both a witness and a beneficiary," Tao said, adding that China's opening up policy, advanced development concepts and good business environment have created huge opportunities for enterprises, and the Chinese market is a "must" for Tesla's development.

In January 2019, Tesla broke ground on its Shanghai Gigafactory, becoming the first to benefit from a new policy allowing foreign carmakers to establish wholly owned subsidiaries in China.

The plant logged a remarkable efficiency and delivered its first batch of made-in-China vehicles within a year.

Over the past years, the company has continued to ramp up investment in Lingang, expanding the production capacity of its Shanghai Gigafactory and building more facilities, including a supercharger manufacturing factory.

From January to November this year, Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory delivered more than 850,000 vehicles, an increase of 30 percent year on year. It has also evolved into Tesla's main global export center.

"With Tesla's efficient production and manufacturing capabilities, coupled with the high-quality business environment in Lingang, the mega factory project is expected to refresh the 'Tesla speed,'" Tao said.