China has become the second-largest market for US carmaker Tesla’s first mass-market car Model 3, which has received over 400,000 orders worldwide in about a month.
The flood of orders reveals Chinese customers’ recognition of high-performance electric vehicles, said Tesla’s global vice-president Robin Ren, without disclosing the figure for Chinese orders.
“The potential is huge, and Tesla is fully committed to developing the Chinese market,” Ren said on Thursday.
China was Tesla’s second-largest market last year as well though the revenue fell 33 per cent to US$319 million (HK$2.47 billion) from the previous year.
The US carmaker launched Model 3 on April 1, with its online pre-order starting the day before. As its first model targeting the mass market, the car is priced at US$35,000. Chinese customers need to pay 8,000 yuan (HK$9,570) as deposit.
The first deliveries are expected to start by the end of 2017, mainly in the North American markets. Chinese buyers will receive the car even later.