Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced he plans to build the company's next factory near the German capital of Berlin.

The electric-car maker also will establish an engineering and design center near Berlin’s new airport, Tesla’s chief executive officer said late Tuesday.

“Some of the best cars in the world are obviously made in Germany,” Musk said at an event attended by the CEOs of Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and BMW AG. He said the country is “not that far behind” in electric cars while also acknowledging that the market for them is “unproven.”

Tesla is also getting ready to start sales of cars built in China.

Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, is running into labor-union resistance over where future electric cars will be produced ahead of a critical meeting with investors Thursday in London. Audi, the biggest profit contributor to VW Group, faces similar fights over safeguarding employment at its main German factories that specialize in sedans and station wagons.