The delivery of the first batch of Tesla electric vehicles (EV) from the Shanghai Gigafactory began Wednesday, May 11, 2022 after this large factory was temporarily closed due to the lockdown, the spike in new Covid-19 cases in the City of Shanghai.
The Glovis Splendor ship anchored from Nangang Port in Shanghai to Luka Koper Port in Slovenia with 4,767 Tesla electric cars at the Tesla factory in Shanghai City on Wednesday morning.
“As soon as the car was produced on Tuesday afternoon, Tesla rushed to load it onto the ship,” said He Dong’an, an official with Yangshan Customs.
According to customs requirements, export companies must complete loading and declare delivery to customs 24 hours in advance.
Shanghai is China’s largest vehicle import and export hub, accounting for about 70 percent of foreign trade for the auto segment.
Amid a new wave of Covid-19 spread, Tesla was put on the city’s first “white list” of key companies allowed to resume work and production.
Tesla has produced 10,000 vehicles as of April 30 since the resumption of production, although capacity has not yet fully recovered.
From January to April, Tesla delivered 183,686 vehicles, an increase of more than 1.7 times compared to the same period last year, and even surpassing the number of vehicles delivered in 2020.
According to reports, Tesla will export at least 4,100 EVs by May 13, indicating that the company is rushing to make up for the production cut by the epidemic.
Last year, Tesla estimated that exports from the Shanghai port would reach 300,000 vehicles by 2022.
