Tesla making inroads in China as their electric vehicle market rapidly grows

The electric vehicle market in China has been growing quickly. And the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported last year that "China became the world's largest electric car market." The opportunity for Tesla is massive. Bloomberg reports, "Tesla Inc.’s revenue from China last year tripled to more than $1 billion, indicating better traction in the market [that] Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has predicted could eventually become the company’s biggest."

Above: Beijing Tesla owners take delivery of their new Model X (Image: Tesla Updates)

It's reported that, "China accounted for more than 15 percent of Tesla’s more than $7 billion of total revenue last year." And Electrek reports that Tesla has worked to expand it's charging capabilities in China: "Hundreds of Superchargers and thousands of Destination chargers later, and with the help of the [Chinese] government also heavily investing in charging infrastructure, Tesla managed to change the perception of charging electric vehicles in the country... [and] the company has now built a new adapter in China to access charging stations on the national standard, which should also go a long way in facilitating charging in the country." 

Above: Charging at a Tesla Supercharger station (Image: South China Morning Post)

InsideEVs reports that China now has: "over 600,000 EVs on its roadways, which is more than double the numbers from a year ago. This outmatches EV growth statistics in the U.S. and Europe combined. To show off its dedication to EVs, an enormous group of Tesla Model X and S owners joined forces to set a Guinness World Record in mid-January. The Tesla owners gathered in Beijing at the Golden Port park... [and] Guinness Book of World Records was present for the celebration, and awarded Tesla with a plaque. It reads: The largest parade of Tesla cars was achieved by Tesla Motors (China) in Beijing, China on 15 January 2017."

Above: Model X at Beijing's 'world record' event (Youtube: cousinHub Insane-D)

In the meantime, Beijing continues to make a major push, across the board, to all-electric transport. This past week, Mashable reports that: "China's capital is replacing tens of thousands of taxis with electric cars to fight pollution... [this] project to replace all the current petrol powered cars is estimated to cost taxi operators $1.3 billion." And as the lower-priced Model 3 comes to market, it's conceivable that Tesla may become even more popular in the country. However, Tesla will have to continue to compete with local EV companies in China like BYD.

Above: Tesla staff at one of its many store locations in China (Image: Country Caller)

And although Tesla is leading the EV charge worldwide, these China-based companies are also moving quickly towards an all-electric future. Even though "Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 has been a center of attention for people interested in the growing momentum behind green energy, electric cars, and battery production... it’s actually just one of multiple large-scale 'megafactories' being built – with many of them being in China."  Check out the infographic below for proof. That said, it's no wonder Tesla just announced in its recent Shareholder's Letter that, "later this year, we expect to finalize locations for Gigafactories 3, 4 and possibly 5." Yes... Tesla is always a few steps ahead.

===

Infographic: Visual Capitalist