Electric auto giant Tesla said Thursday it has reduced delivery wait times for Model 3 and Model Y cars in China as it ramps up production at its Shanghai plant after upgrading production lines.
The wait time for the rear-wheel drive Model Y sport utility vehicle is now four to eight weeks, while buyers of the SUV and other versions of the Model 3 sedan will have to wait 12 to 20 weeks. Tesla has previously said that a buyer in China has to wait eight to 24 weeks after placing an order for its best-selling models.
Tesla confirmed the shorter wait times, first revealed on the company’s Chinese website, citing an output ramp-up at its Shanghai plant as one of the reasons.
In the second half of each quarter, the automaker offers more cars produced in Shanghai to Chinese customers, which also speeds up deliveries, the company said.
Tesla has completed a major upgrade of the production line at its Shanghai plant, its most productive production center, and is ramping up production with a goal of assembling 22,000 Model 3 and Model Y cars each week.
Chief executive Elon Musk has said that production is a bigger challenge for the company than demand. Its Berlin and Texas plants are struggling to ramp up production, while production losses in Shanghai during a two-month Covid-19 lockdown hurt Tesla’s second-quarter profits.
Citing a large delivery backlog, the company has stopped taking orders for its Cybertruck outside North America and for its Model 3 long-range vehicles in the United States and Canada.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
