It was supposed to be one of the biggest new moves in the EV sector, propelling Tesla’s ability to sell more in China and impressing various friends and neighbors.
Right now, though, the new Shanghai plant is experiencing difficulties related to securing parts for the vehicles, pushing production far below what stakeholders have considered normal.
CPCA, a Chinese association monitoring such numbers, reports production at the facility is at a decreased production rate of 98%, with only about 1500 cars sold in April compared to 65,000 sold in March.
“Shanghai is in its sixth week of an intensifying lockdown that has tested the ability of manufacturers to operate amid hard restrictions on the movement of people and materials,” writes a Reuters team covering events in the area.
Right now, the company reports, the daily production is down to around 200 units per day, from previous averages of 1200 per day after a 22-day closure where the plant reopened April 19.
Tesla reports 10,757 cars produced in Shanghai through April, where about 10% went to customers during that timeframe.
However, Tesla presumably still has big plans for this factory.
The prediction is that eventually the plant will turn out 450,000 cars per year, with a capacity for turning out 2000 cars per day.
“Until Tesla’s Berlin factory opened in March, a large portion of Tesla’s cars made for export in Shanghai headed for Europe. It is thought this has caused delays for the introduction of the Model Y in Australia,” wrote Bridie Schmidt at The Driven just days ago on May 4. “However, how soon Tesla could start operating a second factory is as yet unknown. Tesla famously constructed its Shanghai factory in just 10 months, commencing production in late 2019.”
We’ll see how quickly the plant can get back to regular numbers and online activity.
