Reporter 丨 Li Xing
After the first gigafactory settled in Shanghai, the location of Tesla's second factory in China became the focus of attention in the industry.
A few days ago, an article entitled "Five Grasps in the Dadong District of Shenyang City and Striving to Be the Vanguard of Revitalization and Development" pushed by the official WeChat public account "Liaoning Release" sponsored by the General Office of the People's Government of Liaoning Province mentioned: "Combined with the urban renewal of the Wenguan area, open up the space for industrial development, and lay the foundation for the landing of major new energy vehicle projects such as Tesla." ”
As soon as the above news came out, the outside world interpreted that Tesla's second factory in China will settle in Shenyang. However, the news was quickly denied, and the "Liaoning Release" public account also deleted the relevant articles.
Image source: Visual China
At present, in addition to Shenyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Yibin, Chongqing, Hefei, Wuhan and Xi'an are all rumored to be "gossipy" with Tesla's second factory project in China. In this regard, the Daily Economic News reporter also verified with Tesla China for the first time, and as of press time, the other party did not respond.
"The main consideration for OEMs in choosing factories to settle in cities is whether the local industrial chain is perfect, whether the market demand is strong, and the size of the support policies given by local governments, including land and taxation." On February 16, Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said in an interview with reporters that if Shanghai can give enough attractive policy support, it is not impossible for Tesla to settle in Shanghai again.
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Industrial chain supporting,
Geographical location, etc. may become the key to settlement
Since the start of production, the production capacity of the Shanghai Gigafactory and Tesla's market size in China have been rapidly increasing. According to public data, Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory delivered a total of 484,100 vehicles in 2021, an increase of 235% year-on-year, accounting for 51.7% of Tesla's annual global total deliveries. In 2021, China was identified by Tesla as its main manufacturing and export center.
The latest data shows that in January, Tesla delivered about 59,800 new vehicles in China, continuing the high production capacity level in 2021. Among them, Tesla's export volume of new cars in China exceeded 40,000 units, accounting for more than 67%.
At present, Tesla has two production bases that have been put into production, namely the Fremont factory and the Shanghai Gigafactory. In addition, Tesla has the Austin Gigafactory and the Berlin Gigafactory to be put into production. On a Tesla earnings call in January, Tesla CEO Musk publicly stated that the company was selecting a site for the new factory, and there may be relevant information at the end of this year.
In the eyes of the outside world, Tesla chose to build a second factory in China because it learned from the experience of the Shanghai Gigafactory – the closer it is to the local market, the more beneficial it is to production. At the same time, localization production is more conducive to enterprises to control costs.
Tian Yongqiu, an analyst in the automotive industry, believes that the location of Tesla's second factory in China will mainly consider three factors: one is the convenience of geographical location, assessing whether it is convenient for its export and sales; second, whether the local industrial chain is perfect; and third, whether the preferential policies given by the local government are attractive enough.
"Maximizing benefits" is the evaluation given by Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Joint Association, on the location of Tesla's second factory in China. "For Tesla, whether the local industrial chain is complete is the primary consideration for its location." Because reducing costs and maximizing profits is what all companies, including Tesla, pursue. Cui Dongshu said that even if the local government can give the greatest policy support, if there is no complete industrial chain to keep up, it will make the production of enterprises passive, invisibly increasing the cost of production and manufacturing.
Image source: Daily Economic News Infographic
The local cultivation and demand for the new energy vehicle market and the convenience of import and export are also the two major factors for Tesla to choose the factory. For the nine major cities that spread the "scandal" with Tesla's second factory in China, Cui Dongshu believes that combined with the geographical advantages of exports and the supporting situation of the industrial chain, the port cities in East China and South China may be the first choice for tesla's second factory in China.
Tian Yongqiu also said that Tesla's second factory in China may focus on coastal port cities. As is customary, U.S. companies are more selective about shipping. "If Shanghai can give the same preferential policy conditions, it is also possible that Tesla chooses to expand the second factory next to the first factory." Tian Yongqiu said.
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Local investment promotion
Settling with the enterprise factory is a two-way choice
It is reported that in addition to Shanghai Lingang, Tesla also passed on "gossip" with Suzhou, Guangzhou and other cities when choosing the site for its first gigafactory in China.
In fact, compared with other "gossip" objects, Shanghai is not very complete in terms of industrial chain support, but its winning position, policy strength, and new energy vehicle market cultivation. At the same time, Shanghai has given more preferential treatment than market expectations in terms of loans, land, tax rates, cash subsidies and other aspects for the introduction of Tesla, which once attracted heated discussion.
However, tesla has also brought economic benefits to Shanghai and driven local employment while obtaining policy and financial support. In Tian Yongqiu's view, local government investment and car company factory site selection is a two-way choice, the local government will give the greatest policy and financial support for the introduction of "star car companies" such as Tesla, but also requires enterprises to bring them actual performance, such as driving local employment, increasing taxes, attracting high-end talents, and attracting a large number of relevant supporting industry chain enterprises to settle in.
It is reported that dozens of new energy automobile industry projects have landed in Shanghai, and new energy vehicles have become the first 100-billion-level industry in Lingang New Area. With the help of Tesla, Shanghai has also become the largest new energy vehicle city in the mainland. According to public data, in 2021, Shanghai ranked first in the country with the output of 630,000 new energy vehicles, and the output value of new energy vehicles exceeded 160 billion yuan, an increase of 200% year-on-year. Among them, Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory contributed more than 150 billion yuan.
"The introduction of good enterprises will drive a number of supporting enterprises in the relevant industrial chain for the local government." The gradual improvement of supporting enterprises in the relevant industrial chain will also attract more enterprises and talents to enter and improve the local employment rate, thus forming a positive circular effect and boosting the rapid development of the local economy. Tian Yongqiu said.
At present, tesla's second factory in the city is still a mystery, but it is certain that Tesla's subsequent investment in the Chinese market will only increase.
NBD car interaction
Where will Tesla's second factory be located?