People – Page 16824 – I wish I had more to offer

GM strike hits French car parts supplier Faurecia

FILE PHOTO: The sign of French maker of car interiors Faurecia is pictured on the company’s showcase on media day at the Paris Mondial de l’Automobile, October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) – French car parts group Faurecia (EPED.PA) said on Thursday a hit to sales from a month-long U.S. strike at General… Continue reading GM strike hits French car parts supplier Faurecia

Phase 2 Of Tesla Gigafactory 3 Will House Battery Manufacturing Facility

Invest
Electric Cars
Electric Car Benefits
Electric Car Sales
Solar Energy Rocks
RSS
Advertise
Privacy Policy

Electric Cars

Published on October 16th, 2019 |

by Steve Hanley

Phase 2 Of Tesla Gigafactory 3 Will House Battery Manufacturing Facility

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook

October 16th, 2019 by Steve Hanley

According to a report by China’s Global Times, Tesla has completed construction of the parts of its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai that will be dedicated to producing automobiles. Now it has begun work on “phase 2” of the factory, which will house a battery manufacturing facility. The report does not make clear whether this space will be used to make battery packs from cells sourced from outside suppliers or whether it is intended for cell production as well.

Last summer, Tesla announced it would use battery cells sourced from LG Chem for the battery packs used in the Model 3 sedans built in Shanghai. It also indicated it was open to using battery cells made by CATL or Panasonic in the future as well. The implication is the company does not intend to manufacture its own battery cells but will be responsible for making its own battery packs, presumably in the part of the new factory that is now under construction. Global Times visited the Gigafactory 3 (GF3) site this week and reports the area where phase two will be located has already been paved and the installation of pillars and roof trusses has already begun.

Feng Shiming, a veteran analyst for the Chinese auto industry analyst, tells the Global Times he has heard from Tesla employees at GF3 that the first batch of vehicle batteries for the Model 3 will be fully assembled as of October 30. He predicts that mass production at the Shanghai factory will not start until after the Spring Festival holidays in January next year. The factory built in the first phase will merely assemble parts shipped from the US, Feng says. On Monday, a Tesla sales person told the Global Times on Monday that a Chinese customer who places an order for a Model 3 today will take delivery of the car in 6 to 10 months.

We’ve also seen a report that Model 3 production will now start in GF3 on October 20.

A Need For Urgency
Feng suggests the push to get the Model 3 into production at the new Shanghai factory is tied in with a desire to reassure investors that the company can achieve profitability and deliver its cars in a timely fashion. “The price of the Model 3 is relatively low, so Tesla needs to start sales in China as quickly as it can and sell the car in large volumes to recoup its capital investment,” Feng says.

Some industry observers believe mainstream customers for the lower cost Model 3 may be less inclined to overlook quality concerns than the more affluent buyers of the Model S and Model X who are focused primarily on the advanced technology Tesla brings to the table. Model 3 buyers, on the other hand, are replacing conventional cars with internal combustion engines and are more interested in utility than technology, presumably.

Feng suggests Tesla may have to offer incentives to get Chinese customers to make the switch, which could depress earnings, at least to start with. Confirmed Tesla supporters, like those who read CleanTechnica, see things differently. We tend to think that once Chinese customers get to experience the goodness of the Model 3, it will be traditional manufacturers who will be juicing their sales incentives in an effort to convince shoppers not to buy every Model 3 Tesla can weld, screw, and glue together at its Shanghai factory.

Hat tip to Teslarati.
Follow CleanTechnica on Google News.
It will make you happy & help you live in peace for the rest of your life.

About the Author

Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. His motto is, “Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away!” You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.

Cummins Unveils New Battery Powered Tactical Unit for U.S. Military

SHOREVIEW, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) debuted the Tactical Energy Storage Unit during the 2019 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) show at the Washington Convention Center, October 14 – 16. The new Tactical Energy Storage Unit is the first battery hybrid power generation system for military use, further enhancing the performance and reliability… Continue reading Cummins Unveils New Battery Powered Tactical Unit for U.S. Military

Romania resumes talks with Volkswagen on hosting new car plant – SeeNews

BUCHAREST (Romania), October 16 (SeeNews) – Romania has resumed talks with Volkswagen on hosting a new factory of the German carmaker after Volkswagen said it had postponed the final decision on whether to build the facility in Turkey, the Romanian ministry of business, commerce and entrepreneurship said. The announcement was made by Romania’s interim minister… Continue reading Romania resumes talks with Volkswagen on hosting new car plant – SeeNews

GM-UAW deal calls for 9,000 jobs, $9,000 ratification bonus, e-truck at Detroit-Hamtramck

CLOSE Joe Krapohl, 64, of Otisville has spent more than 30 years working at GM as a toolmaker. He is a third-generation employee on the strike line outside the Flint Assembly Plant. Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press The proposed deal between General Motors and the UAW includes promised investments in U.S. manufacturing that would… Continue reading GM-UAW deal calls for 9,000 jobs, $9,000 ratification bonus, e-truck at Detroit-Hamtramck

Flint workers welcome UAW-GM tentative agreement but are willing to stay on strike

CLOSE UAW Local 598 president Ryan Buchalski discusses tentative deal with General Motors to end strike. Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press FLINT — Smoke wafted from 55-gallon drums filled with burning wood along the strike lines on Wednesday as workers paced the Flint Assembly site in 58-degree temperatures and cold mist – as news trickled in about… Continue reading Flint workers welcome UAW-GM tentative agreement but are willing to stay on strike

A GM worker’s story: Transfer from Lordstown one in a series of hard choices

CLOSE UAW worker Matt Moorhead on strike talks about his journey from the GM Youngstown plant to being on strike at GM Lansing Daniel Mears, The Detroit News Lansing — Matt Moorhead used to start his day with a latte made by his wife, Alyson. Now Moorhead, 47, no longer wakes up to that sweet gesture. He… Continue reading A GM worker’s story: Transfer from Lordstown one in a series of hard choices

Groupe PSA ‘Booster Day’: imagining disruptive innovations to drive competitiveness in the Plant of the Future

For the fourth consecutive year, Groupe PSA organized a day dedicated to its Plant of the Future program 60 partners, including 25 start-ups, came together to tackle 24 challenges A key theme in 2019: carbon neutrality The fourth annual Booster Day, an event dedicated to Groupe PSA’s Plant of the Future, was held today in… Continue reading Groupe PSA ‘Booster Day’: imagining disruptive innovations to drive competitiveness in the Plant of the Future

Car parts firm to shut with 125 jobs to be lost

A car parts firm has announced it will close in 2021, with the loss of about 125 jobs. Hi-Lex Cable System Company makes door and window parts and cables for cars at its plant on Baglan energy park. Management at the firm, which supplies Honda, Audi and BMW among others, said it did not anticipate… Continue reading Car parts firm to shut with 125 jobs to be lost

Tesla Model Y: “Limited Production” ≠ Customer Deliveries

Invest
Electric Cars
Electric Car Benefits
Electric Car Sales
Solar Energy Rocks
RSS
Advertise
Privacy Policy

Cars

Published on October 15th, 2019 |

by Zachary Shahan

Tesla Model Y: “Limited Production” ≠ Customer Deliveries

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook

October 15th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan

We published an article earlier today about leaked info we received from a historically reliable source inside Tesla who indicated there’s a target to start limited production of the Tesla Model Y in Tesla’s Fremont factory sometime around Q1 2020. Our main source has previously shared detailed information of various sorts that proved to be accurate, some of which we published and some of which we didn’t. Our source is not a top executive at Tesla, and we all know that Tesla is a nimble company that can change plans (or run into challenging bottlenecks) as the seasons change, so first and foremost I do think it’s wise to be cautious about leaked expectations for limited Model Y production anywhere from 3 months from now to 6 months from now.

More importantly, though — and the reason for this article — I think people should be cautious about conflating production (er, limited production) and customer deliveries. Even if production starts rolling at a slow pace in 3–6 months, customer deliveries may not start for another several months after that. We don’t have any insight into this matter.

In fact, even though Model Y production commencing in or near Q1 2020 may seem far in advance of Tesla’s stated plans to start shipping Model Y to customers in “fall 2020,” there may not be much (or any) discrepancy at all. This leaked information may simply mean that Tesla is on track with its stated Model Y development and production plans.

Of course, we know that some Model Ys are already in testing on the road:

However, Tesla has previously tested prototypes of new models several months before customer deliveries began.

Another contributor of ours, Maarten Vinkhuyzen, offered some useful comments on this topic underneath the article earlier today. His comments are based on previous Tesla announcements, how precise or careful the company has been about Model Y production statements, and his own deduction:

What was notable was that it was more careful this time around. Tesla talked about start of production, start of volume production, start of deliveries to public, all with different moments in time. That made me thinking.

The time line as I see it:

2020Q1
— start of the production line,
— end-to-end system testing,
— programming, configuring, debugging, and tuning.

2020Q2
— start of trial production,
— product QA, panel gaps, paint job, fit and finish,
— production of test vehicles for collision, safety, cold & hot climates, endurance.

2020Q3
— start building Model Y production line in Shanghai GF3
— start of production,
— vehicles for showroom and test-drives at USA dealers,
— first deliveries to employees.

2020Q4
— start of volume production,
— deliveries to employees Tesla and SpaceX,
— deliveries to first, preferred customers around Fremont.

2021Q1
— start of deliveries to public at large.

As you can see, Maarten’s forecast fits both the leaked information we received regarding “limited production” as well as Tesla’s official “fall 2020“* commencement of deliveries target. I don’t know enough about manufacturing to know if this timeline is realistic, but it looks logical to me.

The key summary note that I’ll repeat is: “limited production” ≠ customer deliveries. We did not receive information on when initial customer deliveries are expected, and we did not receive enough insight into what is underway or planned to know if Model Y development and production is moving along faster than initially expected. We also have not heard from Tesla on this matter despite reaching out for commentary on the topic.

We will update you if we learn more. In the meantime, it seems safe to say that 1) Tesla Model Y production is still on track (as Elon Musk has stated every time he’s been asked about it), 2) it seems clear that it will occur in Fremont, and 3) there’s a chance that it’s ahead of schedule — but our information does not prove that. If you hear more, feel free to drop us a note.

*h/t Fact Checking
Follow CleanTechnica on Google News.
It will make you happy & help you live in peace for the rest of your life.

About the Author

Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He's also the CEO of Important Media. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao.

Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA] — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in this company and feels like it is a good cleantech company to invest in. But he offers no investment advice and does not recommend investing in Tesla or any other company.

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.