Tesla says will start delivering China-made Model 3s to public on Jan 7

Shanghai: Tesla Inc will deliver its first Chinese made Model 3 sedans to the public on Jan. 7 at an event at its Shanghai plant, a representative for the firm told Reuters on Thursday.

The Shanghai plant is part of the Silicon Valley automaker`s plans to bolster its presence in the world`s biggest auto market and minimise the impact of the U.S.-China trade war.

Fifteen Tesla employees who had purchased a car were the first to receive their Model 3s on Monday after the first China-made vehicles rolled off the plant`s production line in October.

The deliveries come a year after construction of Tesla`s only plant outside the United States began. Production started in October with a target of 250,000 vehicles a year once the Model Y is added to the line-up.

The Model 3 is priced at 355,800 yuan ($50,000) before subsidies. Tesla said previously that it wanted to start deliveries before the Chinese new year beginning on Jan. 25.

Tesla`s China General Manager Wang Hao said the company plans to ramp up Model 3 deliveries in January.

Tesla executives also told reporters the plant had achieved a production target of 1,000 units a week, or around 280 cars a day, and that sales for the China-made sedan had so far been "very good".