Tesla builds huge charging station in Beijing

A Tesla super charging station in Beijing. [Photo/VCG]

China has become home to Tesla's two largest charging stations in the world, one in Shanghai and the other in Beijing, with each capable of serving 50 cars at the same time, said the company on Wednesday.

The one in Beijing, located in Fengtai district, was launched on Nov 17, a Tesla representative told China Daily on Wednesday. The one in Shanghai started operating in October.

Building two large-sized stations in China in a short time shows Tesla's emphasis on customer convenience and its commitment to the Chinese market, said the company in a statement.

Tesla has built more than 800 charging posts in 170 Chinese cities. In Beijing alone, it has 140 charging posts. The carmaker expects to grow the total number of charging posts in China to 1,000 by the end of the year.

China is one of Tesla's most important markets. In the third quarter, its China revenue surged 79 percent year-on-year to $563 million, about 20 percent of its global revenue, according to the company.

To attract more customers, Tesla has started to modify Model S sedans and Model X SUVs for the Chinese market with a new charging port, which would enable them to use public charging infrastructure in the country.

The carmaker has also started retrofitted its charging network in China to comply with local norms, with the work to be finished by early 2018, according to its website.

Tesla is also in talks with the Shanghai government to build a carmaking plant in the region. Its CEO Elon Musk said earlier this month that he expects to start manufacturing cars in China in about three years.

He said the plant will make cars for China and other parts of Asia, essentially the smaller and cheaper Model 3 sedan and the upcoming Model Y crossover, but not the Model S and Model X.

Tesla had delivered 250,000 electric cars worldwide in 2003 to the end of September 2017.