Tesla’s made-in-Shanghai electric vehicles (EVs) are stealing the show at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), but a surge in orders could put pressure on its production capacity.
The US carmaker and runaway leader in China’s premium EV segment did not reveal the number of orders it has received during CIIE, which started on Friday last week and concludes on Wednesday, but its booth has been the lone bright spot in the event’s automobile hall.
“Tesla is now top choice for me,” Lu Jun, a 50-year old Shanghai native and visitor to the expo, said on Tuesday. “The Model Y appears to be very attractive and I just cannot wait any longer,” he said, adding that he had decided to place an order for a standard range Model Y priced at 276,000 yuan (US$43,186) on the spur of the moment.
The expo was launched in 2018 as Beijing moved to assure global businesses that China would be an important buyer of their products and services amid its escalating trade war with the United States. CIIE is also viewed as an event that highlights Beijing’s willingness to open up its vast market to foreign firms. Tesla, the only foreign carmaker with a fully owned assembly plant in China, is seen as a top beneficiary of this liberalisation drive.
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