Tesla cuts price for Model 3 by 8%

US electric carmaker Tesla vut on Thursday the starting price for its China-made Model 3 vehicles by around 8% to $36,805.21 after receiving Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles, according to its China website.

Tesla launched its first Model 3 sedan that people with knowledge of the matter said is equipped with cheaper, Chinese-made batteries and reduced its price to make it more accessible to buyers.

LFP batteries cost about 20% less to make than nickel-cobalt battery cells, according to BloombergNEF. The vehicles produced at Tesla’s Shanghai plant have thus far used nickel-cobalt batteries made by Panasonic and LG Chem.

The prices were changed on its website and it said that the Model 3 benefits “from advanced software technology and efficiency improvement”.

Tesla’s new powertrains are expected to include a cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate battery made by Ningde, Fujian-based Contemporary Amperex Technology, revealed Bloomberg.