Tesla's Giga Shanghai has been unable to get parts to keep its production line running since late last month because of a lack of special passes for truck drivers amid Shanghai's lockdown.
(File photo of Tesla Giga Shanghai.)
Foreign multinationals including Tesla and German hi-tech plastics firm Covestro are lobbying China's government to allow more truck drivers to work between Shanghai and other regions as their business is hit hard by the city's Covid-19 curbs, the South China Morning Post said in a report Saturday.
Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Giga Shanghai has been unable to get parts to keep its production lines running since late last month because of a lack of special passes for truck drivers in the Shanghai lockdown, the report said, citing an executive at the auto parts maker who declined to be named.
The report did not provide more information about Tesla, but cited Richard Fu, a spokesman for Covestro, as saying that logistical constraints remain the biggest challenge, especially with uncertainty about cross-province transportation and supply along the value chain.
Shanghai has been in a phased lockdown since March 28, and Tesla Giga Shanghai has been shut down since then, one of the longest shutdowns since the plant began production in late 2019.
Giga Shanghai produces about 6,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles a week, according to a Reuters report last week.
Shanghai added 1,006 confirmed cases of Covid and 23,937 asymptomatic infections yesterday, according to information released today by the local health authorities. China accumulated 1,318 new confirmed cases of Covid and 25,037 asymptomatic infections on Saturday.
More cities are introducing travel restrictions, resulting in some highways being closed or drivers entering a city and not being able to return.
The need for Covid control has required some cities to set up checkpoints at highway entrances, and closing some highway entrances could reduce manpower investment, local media outlet Jiemian said in a report Saturday.
These are just some of the measures taken by cities, and highways generally have multiple entrances and exits where drivers can detour to other open entrances to the highway, the report noted.
Closing some of the freeway entrances does cause some trouble, resulting in vehicles needing to take a long detour to get onto the freeway, or having to take non-freeway sections, according to the report.
In 2020, 73.8 percent of China's business freight is transported by road, and the disruption of truck traffic could have an impact on the normal operations of a large number of companies, Jiemian mentioned in a separate report on Saturday.
Notably, Chinese regulators appear to be aware of the problem. On April 9, China's Ministry of Transport said local authorities should do their utmost to ensure efficient and smooth freight logistics, and not impose stricter local policies and ensure uniform access control policies.
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