Tesla to Add More Shifts to Increase Production of Shanghai Gigafactory
Tesla plans to add more shifts at its Shanghai Gigafactory from May 16, as it seeks to return production to levels before the city locked down to control the spread of COVID-19, Reuters reported on Friday, citing an internal memo.
According to the memo, starting on that day of increased shifts, Tesla is aiming to increase its Shanghai Gigafactory’s daily output to 2,600 vehicles.
In 2021, Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory delivered 484,130 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 235%. According to the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla delivered 182,200 vehicles in China in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 58.8% of Tesla’s global delivery output, which sat at 310,000 vehicles.
Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory shut down three weeks ago and only resumed production at the end of April. The production hub adopted a “closed loop management” system in which workers lived in the plant and received regular tests. At present, the production of batteries and battery modules has resumed as usual, but the assembly of the whole vehicle needs to be accelerated. More shifts will help to improve the plant’s production capacity.
Another person familiar with the matter said last month that under the “closed loop management” system, Tesla’s inventory can only last for about two weeks, while logistics is the main problem for the production of many other auto parts.
Earlier, because of a letter from Tesla to local authorities, Reuters said on Tuesday that Tesla will build a new factory in Shanghai which is expected to produce the Model 3 and Model Y. The new factory will have an annual production capacity of 450,000 vehicles.
