Tesla - will be the winner in China

China, this is one of the largest markets in the world. The main reason Tesla Model 3 builds factories in China is because the US-China trade war led to higher tariffs. In the case of higher prices, the price difference may cause consumers to not buy Tesla cars. Secondly, China has a unique new energy market, and the government strongly supports new energy. Low labor costs, as well as parts suppliers, should also supply Tesla with raw materials, which is extremely beneficial for the price of Model 3. Let's take a look back at the representative events that Elon Musk and Tesla have experienced over the past months.

In January 2019, Elon Musk signed an agreement with the city government of Shanghai to invest 14 billion yuan in the construction of a manufacturing base in Shanghai Lingang Tesla with a planned production capacity of 250,000 units.

Photo by Qilai Shen

In October, in its quarterly report, Tesla announced that it delivered 97,000 cars in the third quarter, which is a record high, delivery growth and mass production should also accelerate.

Inner intellectual driving was created by many start-up companies involved in autonomous driving, but these startups are not aimed at mass production, but make smarter driving in certain scenarios (parks, ports). For companies that produce cars, the volume is the main one, therefore, an intelligent driving scheme will be introduced from certain points, such as automatic parking, high-speed driving with support.

Currently, the SAIC MARVEL X Pro, Changan CS75 PLUS, Weilai ES8, Xiaopeng G3, Cadillac CT6 and Volkswagen Passat have independent parking functions and some active safety configurations, but compared to the Tesla Model 3, these cars with certain intelligent driving functions strongly lag behind Model 3 in terms of completeness and cost-effectiveness of the intellectual driving function.

The implementation of the intellectual driving function of the Model 3 benefits from an advanced hardware and software system. Model 3 on hardware is equipped with two cameras in front, four side cameras, one rear camera and rear camera fisheye. The camera’s viewing angle can completely cover the car’s environment, greatly improving the car’s perception area. Adjacent vehicles that are adjacent to each other while reversing, or vehicles that are tens of meters away, are within the range of the camera.

The latest Autopilot 10.0 software system adds Smart Summon based on the original auto-parking. This is commonly called the “last mile” in China (unmanned driving on a low speed L4 stage). Smart Summon does not require the owner to go to the parking lot and pick up his car. It is enough to press a button on the phone and Model 3 will start up on its own and go to you. Read more about this in our article:"Tesla Smart Summon: What If?"

Second vid of the Tesla Smart Summon. Wonderful!!

🤯🤯🤯#Tesla #SmartSummon pic.twitter.com/zQqlV5G4Vo

— Vincent (@vincent13031925) September 27, 2019

At the same time, Model 3 supports remote updating of OTA, that is, its software system can be iteratively updated, similar to updating the software application for mobile phones. Therefore, there is no need to update the car model, and this significantly reduces the cost of research and development and is more pleasant for users.

Another advantage of Tesla is that the made in China Model 3 can already be ordered. Tesla Model 3 made in China cheaper, similar to made-in-US. The pre-sale price of the domestic Model 3 is 355,800.

Model 3 has a number of advantages that you can read about in our article:"Tesla is the best option", and in addition to getting the highest safety rating of NHTSA, European NCAP and US IIHS, this is the first new energy car to pass the Grand Slam crash safety test. It is no exaggeration to say that the Tesla Model 3 is an explosive product.

Photo by Chao Zhou

Judging by the situation on the Chinese market, local manufacturers are experiencing a number of difficulties, such as a reduction in capital, a decrease in inventories, product recalls, and staff reductions.
The advent of Tesla is a big blow to some companies.

Tesla's production capacity after Shanghai will continue to increase. Currently, the planned capacity is 150,000 cars per year, and the target for 2021 is 500,000 cars per year.

The words and actions of Tesla must comply with the national conditions of China, and the manufactured products must satisfy the taste of car buyers and have attractive prices. Subject to these conditions, Model 3 sales in China will grow steadily.

Tesla’s decision to enter China is admirable; it was a well thought out and smart move. In the near future we should expect even greater development and growth of Tesla.