Tesla opens new engineering centre in Berlin

US electric carmaker Tesla has opened a new European engineering centre in Berlin on Wednesday.

Engineers and technicians will work in laboratories on materials, powertrain and vehicle engineering, the company said.

Tesla has converted a former industrial site in Berlin's Köpenick district for the centre, not far from its car factory in Grünheide. Berlin's Mayor Kai Wegner also attended the opening ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.

The engineering centre is initially opening with only part of its planned operations in place, the company said. More than 250 employees will work there in the first phase, according to Tesla.

They are being transferred from existing facilities in the Netherlands and other laboratory sites. A large hall will also be used for safety tests on vehicle components, including airbags, as well as tests on battery cells.

Tesla said it had already applied for planning permission for the centre's second phase of expansion. This would increase the workforce at the site to around 500 engineers and technicians.

Tesla said the project would involve a total investment of €100 million ($112 million).

The site in Grünheide is Tesla's only car factory in Europe. In October, Tesla said it planned to double annual production capacity at the site from the planned 500,000 vehicles — a target it has yet to reach — to one million.