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The
automaker plans to produce a weekly average of nearly 20,000
units at its Shanghai factory in February and March, according
to the memo, which detailed output plans for Tesla's most
productive and profitable manufacturing hub.
That level of production would take the plant's output to
roughly its rate in September, when it turned out 82,088 Model 3
and Model Y cars, according to data from China Passenger Car
Association.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on
Wednesday. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because
the details of the plans are not public.
In December, the Shanghai plant had cut output by about a third
from November, and extended a Lunar New Year holiday period for
workers in January, to cope with rising inventory, before its
price cuts of between 6% and almost 14% in China.
On a conference call last week to discuss Tesla's fourth-quarter
results, Chief Executive Elon Musk said orders were roughly
double production in January after global price cuts.
Musk said 2023 deliveries could hit 2 million vehicles, so long
as there was no external disruption.
Tesla's price cuts in China have sparked what analysts have
described as a price war, as Chinese automakers Xpeng and Seres'
Aito have followed the company in cutting prices.
In the first 29 days in January, Tesla's average daily retail
sales in China surged 36% over the corresponding period a year
earlier, to 25,686 vehicles.
The growth was slightly higher than that of major competitor
BYD, while overall car sales fell 45%, data from China Merchants
Bank International showed.
Tesla's Shanghai plant produces vehicles for the China market
and for export to Europe.
(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
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