Recharge Wrap-up: New BYD plant to build 5K EV buses a year, Tesla Model 3 "token of appreciation"

BYD is expected to build 5,000 electric buses a year at its new facility in Qingdao, China. BYD Chairman and CEO Wang Chuanfu says the company will "eventually" increase production fivefold from the current rate of 1,000 buses per year. At that rate of production, the plant, which was built at a cost of about $456 million, could produce buses worth an annual $1.5 billion in sales. Shandong, the province in which the plant is located, is China's second largest auto market according to analyst Zhang Yu at Automotive Foresight. "BYD's move is very likely to seize the Shandong market, as well as the North China market," he says. Read more at China.org.cn.

Nissan and Dongfeng plan to introduce a new EV to China at a price about 30 percent lower than current offerings. The new electric car, set to go on sale this summer, will sell for about $30,439 before government subsidies. After subsidies, the new EV will range from $15,220 to 22,830. Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company introduced its first electric offering in China, the Venucia e30 (based on the Nissan Leaf), in 2014. Nissan hopes to expand to a five to 10 percent share of China's EV market in the coming years, up from two percent in 2015. Read more at Green Car Congress.

Customers who reserved a Tesla Model 3 have started receiving small gifts from the automaker as thanks. In a Tweet from April, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that customers who placed reservations would receive a "token of appreciation," and clarified that those who waited in line on day one would receive "something extra" (perhaps a scale Model 3?). Now, one reservation holder (who ordered in-store after lines had died down) from San Diego has posted a photo in the Tesla Motors Club forum of a letter of thanks and a print of design sketches of the Model 3. It'll likely take some time for others around the country to receive their gift. See the original post at Tesla Motors Club, and read more at Electrek.