(Yicai Global) Jan. 16 -- Tesla has confirmed that it is setting up a design and engineering center in China to develop new energy vehicles for the global market.

Tesla will hire design talent for the center to "integrate most beautiful Chinese arts into future Teslas," the California-headquartered firm wrote in an article on its WeChat account. Chief Executive Elon Musk hinted about the plan at the delivery ceremony for the first made-in-China Model 3s earlier this month.

The company built its first overseas Gigafactory in Shanghai in a year. Musk said at the same delivery ceremony that the firm will also produce compact crossover utility vehicle Model Ys at the plant. 

Tesla's shares [NASDAQ: TSLA] fell 3.6 percent yesterday, dropping from the all-time high of USD537.92 logged on Jan. 14. The company's market cap still remained bigger than that of Ford Motor and General Motors combined.

Editor: Emmi Laine