Under the theme of energy pressure and environmental protection, new energy vehicles will become the main direction of the current development of the automobile industry. As one of the giants in the field of new energy vehicles, Tesla has entered the Chinese market in 2013 to the current major projects in many cities, and the Chinese market occupies an increasingly important position in its global expansion layout. Tesla's second gigafactory in Asia has long been rumored to land in China again...
01
Many of Tesla's headquarters projects landed in China
Since Tesla and the Shanghai municipal government reached an agreement in 2017 to build a factory in Shanghai, by early February 2022, Tesla's first overseas design center was confirmed to settle in Beijing, and Tesla has landed at least six major projects after officially entering China.
Tesla China headquarters
In October 2017, Tesla (Beijing) New Energy R&D Co., Ltd. was established, and its office location was set up in the office building of No. 3 Huamao Center in the core area of The East CBD of Dawangqiao, Beijing, with a leased area of more than 5,000 square meters. As a landmark building of Dawanglu, Huamao Center is home to a number of Fortune 500 companies such as Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank, Sequoia Capital, Johnson & Johnson, Tesla, etc., and the rent is much higher than the overall rent level of office buildings in Beijing.
Asia's first gigafactory
In 2018, Tesla Gigafactory, which integrates R&D, manufacturing, sales and other functions, invested 970 million yuan was settled in Shanghai Lingang area. This is the largest wholly foreign-owned manufacturing project in Shanghai's history and Tesla's first gigafactory outside the United States. For Tesla, the Shanghai Gigafactory is an important base for expanding its global territory; for Shanghai, its landing has promoted the development of Shanghai's new energy automobile industry, killing two birds with one stone and taking what they need.
Tesla Motors Sales Company
In December of the same year, Tesla Automotive Sales Service Co., Ltd. was established and settled in the Feidong Economic Development Zone, which takes new energy as the strategic focus and forms a photovoltaic solar thermal new energy industry base. After settling in, Tesla has enjoyed a number of preferential policies including tax subsidies, fee reductions, loan discounts, fixed asset investment subsidies and so on. The landing of the Tesla automobile project has also further enhanced the industrial level of the Feidong Economic Development Zone and improved its external visibility.
The first technical service company in China
Time to 2021, at the end of February, Tesla's first domestic technical service company settled in Dalian High-tech Industrial Park, Liaoning. At the same time, Tesla's supercharger factory in Shanghai was also officially put into operation. It is reported that Tesla Shanghai Super Charging Pile Factory invested about 42 million yuan, covers an area of nearly 5,000 square meters, and integrates research and development and production.
The largest delivery center in Asia by area
In September, the Tesla Center in Beijing Crab Island was officially completed. Covering an area of 12,000 square meters, the project is the largest Tesla delivery center in Asia, integrating test drive experience, sales and delivery. At the end of October, the Shanghai R&D Innovation Center and the Shanghai Gigafactory Data Center were both completed and put into use. The completion of the R&D innovation center is regarded as an important symbol of Tesla's further localization in China and the international integration of domestic new energy vehicle research and development.
The first overseas design center
Recently, Tesla's first overseas design center settled in Beijing. The design center will set up a local Design Team in China to build international electric vehicles and help Tesla achieve the transformation from "Made in China" to "Designed in China". It is reported that the project will start construction within this year.
The frequent landing of a number of major projects shows that China, as Tesla's largest overseas market, has received more and more attention in its global expansion, and also shows that the mainland new energy automobile industry is gradually maturing.
02
Shanghai and Beijing become major "strongholds"
The landing of major new energy vehicle projects and the development of enterprises play a very positive role in driving the extension and expansion of upstream and downstream enterprises and promoting the transformation and upgrading of logistics and transportation industries. At present, the mainland has formed six major automobile industry agglomeration areas centered on Changchun, Wuhan, Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.
Among them, the northeast automobile industry cluster centered on Changchun has FAW Group, FAW-Volkswagen, BMW Brilliance, Hafei Group and other car companies. However, because the traditional automobile industry in the northeast region is deep, there are too few new energy vehicle manufacturing projects, and the development of the industry is slightly backward, so Tesla currently has only the first technical service company in Dalian, Liaoning Province.
The Yangtze River Delta automobile industry cluster centered on Jiangsu and Shanghai is the current "bellwether" of the new energy automobile industry cluster. With the level of economic development, its own automobile industry base, the industrial policy of new energy vehicles and the rapid accumulation of international capital, the Yangtze River Delta automobile industry cluster has gathered at least 100 new energy automobile industrial parks with an output value of more than 10 billion. Tesla has also landed a number of important projects in Shanghai, such as battery factory, super charging pile factory, data center, research and development center, and the super factory in Lingang District is also expanding.
Tesla's key layout in Shanghai has also further boosted the development of the new energy automobile industry. According to public data, the output value of Shanghai's new energy automobile industry will exceed 160 billion yuan in 2021, an increase of 200% year-on-year; of which the Lingang New Area, where Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory is located, will contribute more than 150 billion yuan. From the end of 2023, Tesla will also pay 2.23 billion yuan in taxes per year, bringing huge tax effects to the Shanghai Municipal Government.
In addition, the role of the super factory in attracting high-end talents, driving related employment, and attracting upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain is also very significant. At present, Shanghai has landed dozens of new energy automobile industry projects, and new energy vehicles, as the first 100-billion-level industry in Lingang New Area, have become one of the important pillar industries in Pudong New Area.
In addition to Shanghai, Beijing, the center of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei automobile industry cluster, seems to be becoming a key city for Tesla's layout projects. Beijing is one of the earliest regions in China to produce new energy vehicles, and after having built the largest new energy vehicle research and development and application center in China, it has begun to actively lay out the whole industry chain cluster of electric vehicle research and development, design, testing, trial production and verification, and provide key support for new energy automobile enterprises. After the Delivery Center in Beijing Crab Island, Tesla has also landed its first overseas design center again.
Huge economic benefits and collateral industrial value are the main reasons why important projects such as Tesla are favored by industrial giants such as Tesla. Therefore, after the rumor that Tesla may land a second gigafactory in China, many cities, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Chongqing, Hefei, etc., have joined the "Tesla factory battle".
03
Next Gigafactory "Who's Going to Spend"
After the rumors of "settling in Shenyang" and "landing in Qingdao" were debunked, the location of Tesla's second gigafactory in Asia has not yet been officially determined.
Judging from Tesla's existing factories, there are no more than three factors affecting the location of its second Asian gigafactory: a complete industrial chain, export convenience and preferential policies.
Therefore, many people think that Wuhan seems to be the city most likely to be selected. Wuhan, known as the "Thoroughfare of Nine Provinces", has a geographical location in all directions; as the center of the new energy automobile industry cluster in the Middle Triangle, Wuhan also has a good atmosphere of the automobile industry and complete new energy supporting enterprises; in recent years, with a number of favorable policies for attracting investment, Wuhan has also attracted large-scale investment from well-known car companies such as Geely Automobile and SAIC-GM. It seems to fit the location requirements of Tesla's second Asian gigafactory.
However, Xiaobian believes that in addition to Wuhan, which everyone is most optimistic about at present, Guangzhou is also very competitive.
First of all, Guangzhou is one of the three major automobile production bases in the country, and the output of complete vehicles ranks first in the country. At present, it has a number of automakers such as GAC, Dongfeng Nissan, Xiaopeng and more than 500 automotive electronic parts companies; in the field of automatic driving, it has gathered many leading enterprises such as Xiaoma Zhixing and Baidu Apollo; Huawei's Guangzhou R&D Center and AutoX Greater Bay Area headquarters project related to intelligent driving have also been settled, and the industrial chain is very complete.
Secondly, Guangzhou's location and cross-border supply chain advantages are also obvious. In recent years, Guangzhou has accelerated industrial upgrading and logistics cluster construction with Baiyun District as the core area, and built a logistics hub connecting the whole country. Such a logistics network can not only meet Tesla's export needs, but also radiate the domestic market at low cost.
In addition, Guangzhou's support policies for the development of the new energy automobile industry are also leading in the country. From the resource elements such as science and technology, talents, capital, and land, to the introduction of advantageous enterprises, first-class technology and high-end talents in the field of new energy vehicles, to actively guide market consumption, to give subsidies for the purchase of new energy vehicles, and to vigorously promote the application and promotion of new energy vehicles, the favorable policy coverage is very comprehensive, and the attraction should not be underestimated.
04
epilogue
At present, the scale of production and sales of new energy vehicles in mainland China has led the world, and the new energy automobile industry has begun to move from the introduction period to the growth period. In the future, with the gradual formation of the diversified industrial pattern of domestic new energy vehicles, China will become an important pole for new energy vehicles.
Therefore, landing the second gigafactory in Asia or even more projects in China is also the best choice for Tesla to maximize its commercial interests. For major cities in China, whether it is Tesla or other "new car-making forces", the landing of its major projects can not only promote the development of the local new energy automobile industry, the formation of clusters, but also drive the transformation and upgrading of the overall manufacturing industry.
Not long ago, it was revealed that Tesla's second factory in Asia will be located in Shanghai again, and the location is next to the first super factory in Lingang District. But the news has not been officially confirmed, perhaps Guangzhou, Wuhan still have a glimmer of opportunity...