Tesla Made-In-China Model 3 Starting Price Now 16% Less Expensive

American electric vehicle maker Tesla cuts the starting price of its Made In China (MIC) Model 3 sedans by 16 percent and now retails at 299,050 yuan or around $42,919 after receiving subsidies from for electric vehicles from the Chinese government, says Reuters. The price reduction is partly due to 24,750 yuan of subsidies, which Tesla has achieved as part of its sales policy in the region. The slew of adjustments also includes prices of car accessories and home charging facilities.

Earlier, Tesla shared that it plans to begin the delivery of its Made in China Model 3 sedans to non-Tesla customers by Jan. 7, 2020. On Monday, 15 Tesla employees who purchased the electric sedan were the first ones to get their hands on China-made vehicles. The US electric vehicle maker also revealed that 30 percent of its components are local.

In other words, some parts of the Tesla Made In China Model 3 sedans are still from outside the region. However, we learned that the company plans to eventually source all its components locally, perhaps by the end of this year. Additionally, it aims to double the number of its service centers and fast-charging stations in China this year, according to a Tesla executive.

Tesla Gigafactory 3 in China exceeded its production target of 1,000 per week, which now average to over 1,500 units weekly, according to Teslarati. During the Shanghai event, some Tesla executives that the sales of Made in China Model 3 vehicles have been ‘very good’ so far. The deliveries to customers is a milestone for Tesla as it attempts to carve out market share in the biggest auto market in the world. What is more impressive is that the Gigafactory 3 started production in October, which is a few months after the groundbreaking and construction of the Tesla facility.

“We believe China could become the biggest market for Model 3,” the company stated in its third-quarter earnings report. Tesla Gigafactory 3 is the first facility of the US electric vehicle maker outside the US. It is one of the company’s strategies to not only penetrate the massive auto market but also to bypass the impact of the current US-China trade war.