SHANGHAI (AP) — Tesla aims to increase production at its Shanghai plant to 2,600 cars a day starting May 16, it said in an internal memo known through Reuters, as it seeks to repair production to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Tesla, which now works on a shift, plans to charge more at its Shanghai plant starting May 16 to meet the target, according to the memo reviewed by Reuters.
That would bring weekly production to 16,900 cars in the workweek set by Tesla at the plant, according to Reuters calculations.
It would also represent a return to the plant’s production levels before the Shanghai shutdown in late March forced the company to suspend its work there.
Tesla declined to provide quick feedback.
Prior to the shutdown, Tesla had done 3 shifts at the Shanghai plant. The plant, which makes Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y, reopened on April 19 after a 22-day shutdown, the longest since it opened in late 2019.
The Shanghai blockade is also complicated for Tesla and other brands because of the complication of getting portions from suppliers.
In one example, Aptiv, which makes cable harnesses for Tesla, was unable to resume production in mid-April and was feared to have a ripple effect on the automaker’s production, according to a user familiar with the matter.
But Tesla controlled getting wiring harnesses from other suppliers and Aptiv received government approval to resume production at the end of April, the user said.
Aptiv did not respond to a request for comment.
The disruption at Tesla’s Shanghai factory was one of the most prominent consequences of China’s measures in the face of its largest outbreak of COVID-19, which also influenced consumption, boosting vehicle sales.
Sales of electric cars (EVs) soared in China before the COVID lockdowns. Tesla’s sales in China rose 56% in the first quarter, while sales of electric vehicles from its biggest rival in China, BYD, increased fivefold.
Tesla assembled 55,462 cars in March at its Shanghai plant when it halted production for six days a month, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
The reopening of its Shanghai plant was widely publicized through state media and was carried out with the government that helped Tesla send more than 6,000 employees and perform disinfection work, Reuters reported this week.
However, Tesla’s progress comes as a survey showed that Japanese corporations are struggling to reopen factories in Shanghai, indicating difficulties with the municipal government’s efforts to get key corporations back to work.
The Japan Trade and Industry Club of Shanghai said Thursday that of the 54 corporations that responded to an April 27-30 survey, 63% said their factories had already resumed operations. (Reporting by Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh; editing by Sam Holmes and Jason Neely)
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