Asian Tech Press (Feb 11) -- Tesla Inc will locate its China design center in Beijing, a city government document said.

The Beijing municipal government released in late January a notice to disclose its planned key projects for the city in 2022, revealing that the Tesla design center will start construction in the Chinese capital this year.

A year ago, Tesla officially announced that it would set up a design and R&D center in China, recruit outstanding design talents and maker originally "Chinese-style" elecctric vehicles.

Reuters exclusively reported at the time that Tesla would establish a new design center in Beijing or Shanghai and was looking for a design director, a position that required more than 20 years of relevant work experience and knowledge of the Chinese market.

The document issued by the Beijing government means that Tesla has chosen the Chinese capital over Shanghai, another financial powerhouse second only to Hong Kong in China, to establish its R&D center.

Industry insiders said that the official opening of Tesla's design center in China also signifies that Tesla will create brand new models for Chinese consumers in the future.

In addition, the government document also mentioned Xiaomi's electric car manufacturing plant and Toyota's fuel cell R&D center will commence construction in Beijing this year.