Tesla Inc

US electric carmaker Tesla reported revenue of $1.4 billion in China in the second quarter, soaring 102.9 percent year-on-year and accounting for 23.19 percent of the total, The Paper reported, citing a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

During the first six months, Tesla reported $2.3 billion in revenues in China, accounting for 19.13 percent of the total $12.02 billion.

Tesla delivered 31,000 electric vehicles to China-based customers in the second quarter, accounting for one-third of its global sales, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

Tesla started deliveries of Shanghai-made vehicles in China at the end of 2019, which are expected to facilitate its foray into the world's largest new energy vehicle market.

Fifteen Model 3 sedans were delivered to its employees at the $2 billion Shanghai plant, Tesla's first overseas factory, ahead of schedule in the first quarter of 2020.

Wang Hao, a senior executive at Tesla China, said the plant has already achieved its production target of 1,000 units a week and that orders for the China-made sedan have been "very good" so far. Tesla will ramp up deliveries in January, he said.

The plant, which broke ground in January 2019 and started trial production in October-record speed for global carmakers in China-was hailed by CEO Elon Musk as a "template for future growth".

Tesla's Shanghai factory is China's first wholly foreign-owned car plant, showing the country's effort to open up its automotive market, which has been the world's largest since 2009.

Tesla has been bullish about the Chinese market.

Its China sales revenue surged 64 percent to $669 million in the third quarter this year, while the figure in the United States fell 39 percent to $3.13 billion, according to its financial statement.

"China is by far the largest market for mid-sized premium sedans. With Model 3 priced on par with gasoline powered mid-sized sedans, we believe China could become the biggest market for Model 3," the carmaker's financial statement said.

As its China models roll off the assembly line, Tesla said it will double the number of service centers and fast charging stations in China next year, and it plans to more than double its after-sales workforce from about 600 now to 1,500.

John Zeng, managing director of the LMC Shanghai consultancy, said locally produced Model 3 sedans, with a lower price tag, will help greatly boost Tesla's sales in the country.