Tesla’s Made-in-China Cars to Qualify for Subsidies There

(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc.’s made-in-China sedans qualified to receive subsidies in the country, a potential boon for Elon Musk’s carmaker as it prepares to start selling locally-built models in the world’s biggest market for electric vehicles.

The company’s Model 3 sedan was included in a list of qualified models published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Friday. That means buyers will get a subsidy of as much as about 25,000 yuan ($3,550) from the government. Tesla said in October the vehicles will be priced from about $50,000 in China.

The company has said it’s planning to start delivering made-in-China Model 3 cars before late January as it nears the start of mass production at its new Shanghai plant, its first outside the U.S.

A Tesla representative in China also confirmed the company’s locally built vehicles have been approved for subsidies. While the government has been scaling back electric-vehicle handouts, certain support measures still exist as the country seeks to move toward cleaner energy and reduce reliance on imported oil.

The China plant will be a crucial test for Musk as he seeks to prove the carmaker can sustain profitability. The Shanghai Gigafactory, which broke ground in January, will initially build Model 3 sedans that will compete with electric cars from local contenders such as NIO Inc. and Xpeng Motors, as well as global manufacturers including BMW AG and Daimler AG.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Chunying Zhang in Shanghai at czhang714@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen, Reed Stevenson

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With assistance from Bloomberg