SHANGHAI Tesla has signed a leasing contract with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Group to open a massive sales and service centre in an industrial park in the city, its biggest one in China, the government-owned company said.

The Tesla store, with a size of 8,000 square metres, or 861,000 square feet, will open in mid-2024 in Xin Park, under development in Shanghai's Pudong district, according to a statement on the Chinese company's official Wechat account on Saturday.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company, the world's biggest electric car manufacturer, has nearly 300 stores across China. Reuters reported last year that it was considering closing some showrooms in flashy malls in cities like Beijing.

It also plans to put more emphasis on stores in less-costly suburban locations that can also provide repairs as the company works to meet Chief Executive Elon Musk's goal of improving service for customers, the Reuters report said.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; editing by Clelia Oziel)