(Yicai) Sept. 4 -- China's new energy vehicle market is large and developing well, and Tesla is looking forward to progressing together with it, according to the president of Tesla China.

"The Chinese NEV market is growing rapidly and at a large scale, and almost all automakers in China are talking about their NEV business when it comes to their future development strategies," Wang Hao recently told Xinhua News Agency. “Carmakers that don't follow NEV's footsteps will be eliminated.”

More and more overseas traditional car manufacturers are working with Chinese NEV and battery makers, Wang added, noting that traditional automakers must also cooperate with and gain support from companies operating in the Chinese supply chain to make their presence count in the domestic NEV market.

"Over 95 percent of parts Tesla uses to make cars at its Shanghai factory are from Chinese suppliers," Wang pointed out. "There are around 360 tier-one domestic suppliers the factory has signed deals with, and Tesla has introduced about 60 of them to the international market, as they were subsequently acknowledged by foreign carmakers.

"Chinese firms on Tesla's supply chain are growing with Tesla because the underlying research and development of NEVs involves many segments, from ideas to assembling," according to Wang. "These Chinese companies will then supply their products to more Chinese NEV makers, creating a benign environment where they will help each other.

"We plan to start building the Shanghai megapack battery factory soon, and most products made there will be exported," Wang noted.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione