Coronavirus: Tesla halts Shanghai production again as logistics issues persist, cases outside quarantine zones nearly triple
- A source said at least part of the carmaker’s giant Giga Shanghai plant halted work on Monday, and the company confirmed logistics problems
- Total new infections in Shanghai dropped for the 17th day in a row, but new cases in non-quarantined zones nearly tripled from a day earlier
A supply-chain breakdown caused production hiccups at Tesla’s Shanghai assembly plant just three weeks after the facility resumed operations, as logistics issues caused by the city’s Covid-19 lockdown continue to reverberate through the manufacturing sector.
The Shanghai-based financial newspaper China Business News reported that Irish electric systems supplier Aptiv had stopped assembly at a plant in northern Shanghai’s Jiading district since May 8 after positive cases were discovered among its workers. The suspension at the plant, which provides components to major carmakers in Shanghai, could have exacerbated the supply-chain bottleneck Tesla is facing, it added.
A source with knowledge of the matter said at least part of Giga Shanghai stopped operating on Monday. Tesla’s April sales plunged by nearly 84 pet cent from a month earlier to 10,757 vehicles.
“Supply-chain constraints and broken logistics links amid a shutdown of the city cannot be fully resolved until the lockdown is lifted,” said David Zhang, a researcher at the North China University of Technology. “Indeed, the automotive industry across the country is affected by the antivirus measures in Shanghai.”
Tesla resumed operations at Giga Shanghai on April 19 after a 22-day hiatus, employing a closed-loop system, where workers sleep on site to avoid contact with outsiders.