(Yicai Global) Jan. 28 -- US electric car giant Tesla will increase output from its Shanghai gigafactory by 80 percent this year to 450,000 units as local demand for its Model 3 and Model Y autos remains very strong, online news outlet The Paper reported today.

Tesla’s Shanghai plant, which only came into operation in December 2019, churned out 250,000 vehicles last year. It started exporting Model 3 autos to Europe last October. At the end of 2020 it opened up a new production line for the Model Y.

Tesla’s strategy of undercutting the Chinese market has won it a considerable fan base. The California-based firm is offering the China-made Model Y to local consumers at a 30 percent discount from imported versions.

The carmaker has been helped by a number of preferential policies from the Shanghai government. Just this week, the Lingang New Area, part of Shanghai’s free trade zone where the gigafactory is based, approved a reduced income tax for Tesla and other high tech firms. They will only need to pay 15 percent corporate income tax for three years starting Jan. 1 last year, as opposed to the statutory 25 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor