Whether Tesla's Shanghai factory is shut down or not has evolved into a public opinion tug-of-war between the source and Tesla officials.
On December 26th it was reported that Tesla's Shanghai factory had been suspended on December 24th. “The factory's morning shift was canceled that day, and workers were told they could start their vacation, with no specific reason given by the factory. This is a bit earlier than the previously stated plan to stop most of the work in the plant in the last week of December.” Some media had previously reported that Tesla planned to suspend production of Model Y models at the plant from December 25 until January 1 next year.
In this regard, the reporter of “Securities Daily” asked Tesla for confirmation at the first time, and got the following response: "Shanghai Super Factory 2022 has maintained efficient production and excellent output. This week's vehicle production is on schedule for annual line maintenance and protection. At the same time, the workers have been working hard for a year, so they are taking a break during the production line maintenance period, but the charging piles and other workshops are not shut down." The Tesla representative emphasized that the media reports of a plant shutdown are not accurate.
It is worth mentioning that since December, the news of Tesla's Shanghai factory production reduction has never stopped.
As early as December 5, news indicated that Tesla plans to reduce production capacity at its Shanghai plant because Chinese demand for electric vehicles has not met Tesla's expectations. The reduction will take effect as soon as that week, and it is estimated that the move could result in a reduction of production capacity at the Shanghai plant by about 20%.
Although Tesla quickly denied this news, it was reported on December 14th that according to Tesla's internal memo, Tesla's Shanghai factory will suspend production of the Model Y from December 25th, 2022 to January 1st, 2023, and that the suspension is part of Tesla's plan to reduce production by 30%, according to a source. The suspension is part of Tesla's 30% program. In this regard, Tesla officially announced for the second time that “the above content is not true”.
Why is Tesla's production shutdown a big concern?
In this regard, Gao Chao, a researcher from the China Automatic Driving Industry Innovation Alliance, told reporters: First of all, Tesla's production suspension at the end of the year is not a regular practice. “Some automobile industries, such as General Motors and Ford, have a precedent of suspending production at the end of the year for vacation. But at the end of December last year, Tesla's Shanghai factory was running normally and did not take a break.”
Gaochao believes that if the production is confirmed to stop or the staff production line adjustment, it will realize the fact that Tesla inventory pressure increases. On the one hand, as a release of more than 6 years and no modification and replacement of the electric car, Model 3's competitiveness is becoming increasingly weak; on the other hand, with the Shanghai Super Factory two models production line in July and August this year to complete the upgrading of Tesla's local production capacity has far outstripped the growth of its sales volume in the Chinese market.
Problems with Tesla
According to a report by Caiyin International, in October this year, the production of Tesla's Shanghai factory was 87,706 units, which was about 16,000 units higher than the delivery of 71,704 units. And this is the largest gap between production and sales since Tesla opened its Shanghai factory in late 2019.
On the market side, Tesla has launched two rounds of heavyweight price cuts in the past two months. At the end of October, Tesla announced a significant price cut of $14,000 to $37,000 for the Model 3 and Model Y. About half a month later, Tesla has again reduced the price of the Model 3 and Model Y in disguise. About half a month later, Tesla once again reduced prices in disguise, and as long as consumers buy the corresponding car insurance through Tesla's cooperative insurance organizations, they can enjoy an insurance subsidy of $0.4 million to $0.8 million.
However, after two promotions, Tesla's order increase is still not as expected. In this regard, the industry generally believes that Tesla has not established a complete market research team in China to provide timely and effective strategies for decision makers and frontline sales in response to competitors“ dynamics. In addition, the Model Y accident in Chaozhou in early November resulted in two deaths and three injuries. This was the first time that a person was killed in the Tesla ”Brake Door" series of incidents, which caused a huge controversy and negative impact both domestically and internationally.
This article is reprinted inWeChat
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