Tesla Giga Shanghai could boost vehicle production by 73% with its plans to increase its car parts production capacity. Tesla China’s plans for Gigafactory 3 have been described in a document submitted to the Shanghai government.
According to Reuters, Tesla China plans to make additional assembly lines for car parts, presumably for the MIC Model 3 and later the MIC Model Y. Based on the documents submitted to the local government, Giga Shanghai will have production lines for battery packs, electric motor, and motor controllers.
The documents support Tesla China’s expectations for Giga Shanghai, specifically its goal to localize the factory’s supply chain. As noted in the Reuters report, at least 70% of the car parts Giga Shanghai used for the MIC Model 3 Standard Range Plus came from Tesla’s facility in Fremont.
Sue Juncheng, a Senior Official at Giga Shanghai, shared that 30% of the Shanghai factory’s supplies came from local vendors after the MIC Model 3 Delivery Event at the beginning of 2020. Based on a previous Tesmanian report, Tesla China predicted that 100% of GF3’s supply chain would be locally sourced by the end of 2020.
Credit: Tesla
The move to increase car part production capacity seems to be a stepping stone towards Tesla China’s goal to increase its car production capacity. The documents submitted to the Shanghai government revealed that Tesla China had doubled its annual building capacity for battery Pack coolant tubes —an integral part of the EV automaker’s heating system.
Giga Shanghai plans to increase its battery pack coolant tubes production capacity from 150,000 to 260,000 a year. Besides increasing its cooing pipe production, Giga Shanghai will also be adding another stamping line.
Giga Shanghai’s decision to push for a fully localized supply chain and additional car part production lines could be due to the upcoming MIC Model 3 Long Range RWD, which was recently approved by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Giga Shanghai is also expected to start Model Y production by the end of the year.
Overall, the ultimate goal for Giga Shanghai is to reach a production output number of 250,000 vehicles by the end of 2020. Tesla’s primary goal is to produce 500,000 by the end of the year. Giga Shanghai would be contributing 50% of those vehicles. Increasing its car parts production line and localizing its supply chain are all steps towards that goal.
Featured Image Credit: Tesla
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