(Photo: CGTN)

Electric car maker Tesla on Wednesday announced it planned to start production in China in 2019, after reporting a "historic" profitable quarter driven by demand for its Model 3. 

In a statement, Tesla said: "In order to significantly increase the affordability of Model 3, we have decided to accelerate our manufacturing timeline in China." 

Tesla had originally said three months ago that it wanted to begin production in China within two years.

The company confirmed that its cars produced in China would be exclusively for the Chinese market.

A notice published on the Shanghai municipal government's website on Wednesday said Tesla would look to produce 250,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China every year.

Shanghai authorities are calling for an environmental impact assessment on Tesla's "giga-factory," which will be built on a 213-acre site purchased by the company for 140 million US dollars earlier this year.

The announcement came after Tesla announced its first profit in two years. 

Net income reached 311.5 million US dollars on revenue that more than doubled to 6.8 billion US dollars in the quarter that ended September 30. 

Shares in the company leapt as much as 12 percent to 323.25 US dollars in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings figures for its fiscal third quarter. 

For the same period a year ago the company reported a loss of 619 million US dollars. 

"Q3 2018 was a truly historic quarter for Tesla," co-founder and chief executive Elon Musk said in a letter to shareholders. "Model 3 was the best-selling car in the US in terms of revenue and the 5th best-selling car in terms of volume." 

Tesla's assembly line produced an average of 4,300 cars per week in the quarter, nearing a goal set a while back by Musk. 

Tesla has also improved efficiency, ramping up the gross margin on Model 3 vehicles to more than 20 percent, according to Musk.