FRANKFURT -- Tesla will build several models at new European factory near Berlin starting with the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover, according a public notice published by the German state of Brandenburg.
More models will be added later and production will ramp up to 500,000 units a year, the notice said.
The plant is due to open in July 2021 with the following production steps: press shop, foundry, body shop, paint shop, seat production, plastics production, battery production, drivetrain production and final assembly, the notice said.
Tesla is expected to employ more than 3,000 people at the plant, which will be in Gruenheide east of Berlin, with the number eventually rising to 8,000.
Adverts for jobs including a construction superintendent, a construction project manager and a mechanical engineer have already appeared on Tesla's website, Automobilwoche, a sister publication of Automotive News Europe, reported.
The local government of Brandenburg, one of five federal states in the former communist east Germany, lobbied hard to win the factory, touting Brandenburg's proximity to Berlin, its skilled labor force and an abundance of clean-energy plants.
Tesla also plans to establish an engineering and design center in Berlin near the German capital city's new airport.
Tesla has long relied on a single assembly plant in Fremont, California for production. This week the automaker will start the first deliveries of Model 3s built at a new plant on the outskirts of Shanghai, China, its first factory outside of the U.S.
Bloomberg contributed to this report
