Tesla considering second factory in China – report

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 A new Tesla factory may open in the coming years in northern China, according to a government social media post, as the brand eyes growing sales in China and abroad.

Tesla may be looking to open a second factory in China, according to an overseas report, as the brand's current Shanghai Gigafactory reportedly nears maximum capacity.

According to a social media post from officials in the north-eastern Chinese province of Liaoning – discovered by News in China could be preparing to open a new facility in the province's capital of Shenyang, to complement the car maker's current factory in Shanghai.

While far from firm confirmation, the Weibo social media post notes says development work planned for the city will "lay the foundation for the implementation of major new energy vehicle projects such as Tesla" – indicating talks are underway for a new Tesla facility.

Car News China reports Shenyang was one of the cities bidding to be the home of Tesla's first Chinese factory late last decade, alongside other locations including Wuhan, Shenzhen, Qingdao and the winning bidder, Shanghai.

Tesla has confirmed it will begin is search for a new factory later this year, with CEO Elon Musk telling investors and media last month: "2022 is the year we will be looking at factory locations to see what makes the most sense, possibly with some announcement by the end of this year." In investor documents published last month, Tesla forecasts its Shanghai, China plant is currently capable of producing in excess of 450,000 vehicles annually – compared to approximately 600,000 at its facility in Fremont, California.

But with Reuters calculations suggesting just over 473,000 Tesla vehicles were produced in Shanghai last year, the electric car specialist will eventually need to expand its operations – either by upgrading an existing site, or opening a brand-new one.

Tesla is constructing new factories in Berlin, Germany and Texas, USA – both of which are rumoured to ramp up operations and commence production of customer vehicles in the coming months, following various delays.

The government social media post suggests the new Tesla factory would be located in the Dadong district of the city of Shenyang, approximately 700 kilometres north-east of Beijing – and only 300km north-west of China's border with North Korea.

This year Tesla will focus on recovering from the semiconductor shortage and stabilising production instead of launching new vehicles, with the company's long-delayed Roadster sports car, Cybertruck ute and Semi heavy vehicle pushed back to 2023.