Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, March 24 (TMTPOST) — Multinational electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin plant in Grünheide had entered production on Tuesday.

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended the opening ceremony of the manufacturing plant. Gigafactory Berlin is Tesla’s second overseas manufacturing plant. It is estimated that the plant can produce 500,000 EVs a year.

Gigafactory Berlin will deliver the first batch of 30 made-in-Germany Model Y cars to its customers. Scholz praised Gigafactory Berlin as a symbol of the major progress that the German automaking industry has achieved and the future of the industry. Tesla believes that Germany will be one of its main EV markets. The rising petroleum price has further boosted confidence in Tesla’s manufacturing plant.

The construction of Gigafactory Berlin, the fifth of th kind, took only two years to be completed. Tesla was able to build the factory in such a short time because the company already started construction before receiving approval from local authorities. Local residents and environmental protection organizations had protested against the construction of the factory, citing concerns that the project might cause flooding. The construction of Gigafactory Berlin was completed last year but did not enter production as it was waiting for the green light from local authorities. It was not until early March 2022 that Gigafactory Berlin received approval from the authorities for a production permit.

“This is a great day for the factory,” Musk said, commenting that the launch of the factory is “another step in the direction of a sustainable future.”

Gigafactory Berlin, a six-billion-euro project, will be the biggest EV manufacturing plant in Europe in terms of production output, Tesla said. It is reported that Gigafactory Berlin will produce 500,000 Model Y cars and 500 million battery cells every year.

Tesla has been exporting cars from China to customers in Europe in recent years.

Now Tesla will be able to directly supply its customers in European from its European plant without having to rely on its plant in China.

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