(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. hasn’t halted output at its Shanghai factory, though it is experiencing some disruption to logistics amid the city’s long-running Covid-19 lockdown, a spokesperson for the U.S. carmaker said Tuesday.
Reuters reported earlier that output had halted, prompting Tesla to issue a statement saying it had received no notice of any Shanghai plant cessation and pointing out that some vehicles are still being made.
Tesla’s China factory was shuttered for three weeks in April as Shanghai was plunged into lockdown in an attempt to halt community spread of Covid-19. The plant started up again in late April under a so-called closed loop system whereby workers live on site and are tested regularly.
Read more: Tesla Looking to Boost Shanghai Car Production With Second Shift
Prior to the pandemic-induced halt on March 28, Tesla workers in Shanghai were working three shifts covering 24 hours, seven days a week. The workers in the current closed-loop system have been doing 12-hour shifts, six days a week.
However although the shift is meant to be 12 hours, a shortage of some parts means most days work has had to stop after about eight hours, a person familiar with the matter said.
And while workshops at the EV maker’s China plant were operating on Tuesday, the situation is fluid and logistics problems may force production to cease later this week, the person said, declining to be identified because the details are private.
One of the problems stems from a shortage of wire harnesses from Aptiv Plc, which had to stop shipping supplies from a plant that supplies Tesla and General Motors Co. after infections were found among its employees, Reuters said.
When asked about the reduced 12-hour shift, a Tesla representative said the company would provide updates when necessary.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory, which in regular times pumps out around 2,100 cars a day, remains challenged by component shortages, other people familiar said last month. The automaker only has inventory for just over two weeks based on its current closed-loop schedule and logistics are a major problem for many other parts.
Local media, citing an unidentified company official, reported that Tesla produced around 10,000 vehicles from its Shanghai plant between April 19 and April 30, or a run rate of about 830 cars a day.
Vehicles sales in China overall likely tumbled 47.6% last month to 1.17 million units, preliminary data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers last week showed.
(Updates with shift situation from 5th paragraph.)
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