Teslas for Australia and New Zealand may come from China

Tesla plans to ship cars made at its Shanghai factory to other countries in Asia and Europe, including Australia and New Zealand.

That’s according to people familiar with the matter, with China-built Model 3s mass produced in the fourth quarter for delivery outside the country, Bloomberg reports.

Bloomberg says its sources don’t want to be identified because details are private but they say the markets targeted include Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Europe.

Shipments could start as soon as the end of this year, Bloomberg

adds.

The move is a change from the plan Tesla chief executive Elon Musk communicated when Tesla started building the Shanghai factory in 2019.

Musk said the facility would only make lower-priced versions of the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover for the Greater China region, and he predicted there would be enough local demand to potentially require several factories in the country, Bloomberg says.

Tesla has said it can produce up to 200,000 vehicles annually – almost 17,000 a month – and in August sold about 11,800 cars in China.

Demand for EVs globally is rising, helped by tighter emissions regulations in Europe and an increasing awareness of climate change and the negative impact fossil-fuelled cars have on the environment.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has dented all vehicle sales, the EV market is expected to expand about 7% this year.