Tesla is apparently going to exceed its planned Model 3 production capacity in the first phase of Gigafactory Shanghai, and Model Y production is going to start sooner than some think.
When Tesla first announced its plans for a new factory in Shanghai, the automaker was aiming for the first phase to produce 150,000 Model 3 vehicles per year.
The automaker has reportedly already achieved that production rate.
During its Q1 2020 earnings results last month, Tesla announced that it is now pushing to achieve the production of 4,000 cars per week in mid-2020.
Tao Lin, vice president of Tesla China, now says that the goal is going to be achieved as soon as next month in a new interview with Xinhua:
Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory is also one of the earliest automobile manufacturing plants in China to resume production. Tao Lin said that the factory is currently producing smoothly, and it is expected that the target of 4,000 vehicles per week will be achieved in June this year, which means that the actual output will exceed the design capacity of the first-stage super factory with an annual output of 150,000 units.
4,000 units per week would result in Tesla producing roughly 200,000 electric cars per year at the plant.
The Tesla executive also shed some light on the planned timeline to bring the Model Y to China.
Tao Lin says that Model Y electric SUVs will roll off the line at Gigafactory Shanghai in Q1 2021:
Tao Lin said that the second phase of the Super Factory is also progressing very smoothly. It is expected that the construction will be completed by the end of this year and mass production of Model Y models is expected in the first quarter of next year. This is only more than a year after Tesla founder Musk announced the launch of the Model Y manufacturing project in Shanghai on January 7 this year, refreshing ‘Tesla Speed’ again.
As we recently reported, Tesla is currently building giant buildings next to its existing factory in order to make room for the Model Y production lines.
The new buildings are likely going to double the current size of Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai.
Tesla has taken a new vehicle introduction strategy for Model Y. Unlike previous vehicle programs, which were launched in different markets with vehicles imported from Tesla’s Fremont factory in California, Tesla is only introducing Model Y in new markets once the vehicle is being produced there.
For Europe, it means potential buyers are going to have to wait until Gigafactory Berlin is up and running, which right now is planned for the summer of 2021.
In China, it now appears to be on a quicker timeline: Q1 2021.
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