We’ve been hearing “electric vehicles are the future” for so long now that it’s almost become cliche, but a small avalanche of news on Tuesday seems to indicate that the EV wave is indeed beginning to gather strength - and it could become a tsunami.
China also extends purchase incentives on electric vehicles as it pushes hard on an all-EV future, and imported American-made Teslas were not eligible for those rebates. That’s about to change for China-built Model 3 buyers. Tesla still has to get a “manufacturing certification” from the Chinese government, but part of that process includes showing that the cars are indeed being made at the plant, so it appears that will be a formality taken care of by year’s end.
Tesla’s presence is unique - for now - in the Chinese market as the only wholly-owned and operated American car company operating within the Communist country’s borders. Ford, GM and others have had to “partner up” with a domestic carmaker in order to penetrate the market; Tesla’s complete independence is unprecedented and signals the strength of the brand within China.
Perhaps the bigger news was that Elon Musk wasn’t in China to celebrate on Tuesday, but in Germany, possibly to dominate. Musk has decided that Gigafactory 4 will be located near Berlin.in Germany, Musk praised German engineering prowess and said that the new German mega-facility will also include a vehicle design studio. In a tweet, he added the gigafactory would “build batteries, powertrains & vehicles, starting with Model Y.
No timetable, cost or exact location was detailed by Musk, but the announcement, while not wholly unexpected, must have Mercedes, Volkswagen and BMW quaking in their boots. While it’s unlikely Tesla will be able to raise a gigafactory in Germany in under a year as it did in China, the spectre of having the world’s leading luxury electric-only carmaker plant its flag near Berlin should provide impetus for the German giants to stop playing about with big ideas and start making some actual competitive electric cars.
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