Tesla sketches Chinese city hatch

Tesla has indicated it will establish a research and development centre in China to design and engineer smaller vehicles for the world’s biggest car market and beyond.

However, the announcement comes not in the form of an official statement or press release, but in typical Tesla fashion via much more informal channels.

In this case the US EV maker took to Chinese social media app WeChat to reveal its CEO, Elon Musk, wants to build an R&D centre in China to create Chinese-designed products.

“In order to achieve a shift from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Designed in China,’ [Elon Musk] has proposed a very cool thing: set up a R&D centre in China,” said the post, which included this sketch.

It also called for applications – by February 1 – from anyone wishing to help design “Chinese-style” Tesla models.

The first Tesla Model 3s rolled off Tesla’s Chinese Gigafactory in December and now it seems it could be joined by a smaller EV hatchback designed in China and looking something like this.

Showing familial front-end similarities with the Model 3, the as-yet-unnamed hatchback would compete with compact EVs like the upcoming Volkswagen ID.3 – if it reaches production and doesn’t morph into something else in the meantime.

Musk has previously said that Tesla plans to build a car global consumption in China, and it would likely be built at its new factory in Shanghai, where the upcoming Model Y small SUV will also be produced.

In October, Tesla said its Model Y production plans were ahead of schedule and its fourth model would be launched in mid-2020 rather than the second half of this year.

Avoiding tariffs for imported vehicles, Tesla built its first Gigafactory outside the US in just 10 months. The Shanghai facility has annual production capacity of 500,000 vehicles.

It is expected to make China – the world’s biggest EV market, with 1.2 million sold last year – Tesla’s biggest Model 3 market.