- Model Y production will be suspended for about three weeks to increase production, and Model 3 production will also be suspended during the Lunar New Year, according to Bloomberg.
- It's not unusual for Tesla or any automaker in China to shut down production during the Lunar New Year.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) plans to suspend part of the production lines in Shanghai that makes its facelifted Model Y for about three weeks during the upcoming Chinese New Year to better optimize the equipment, Bloomberg said in a report today, citing people familiar with the matter.
The lengthy halt will allow Tesla to more efficiently prepare its production lines to increase production of the new SUV (sport utility vehicle) model, the report said.
The part of the impacted Model Y lines will be shut down from around January 22 to February 14, people familiar with the matter said, according to Bloomberg.
Another area of the Shanghai plant that produces the Model 3 electric sedan will close from January 26 to February 3, they added.
The upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year holiday is January 28 to February 4, 2025, and industrial production in China usually sees disruptions.
It's not unusual for Tesla, or any automaker in China, to shut down production during the Lunar New Year, an important holiday when many people will leave the big cities to visit their families in other parts of the country, the Bloomberg report noted.
Domestic cross-regional travel across the country is expected to reach about 9 billion trips during this year's Lunar New Year, Chinese transportation authorities said.
Tesla launched its revamped five-seat Model Y in China on January 10, the first time it has made a major update to a model available first in the country.
Tesla is offering two Model Y variants it calls the “Launch Series,” with deliveries expected to begin in March.
The two variants include a rear-wheel-drive version with a starting price of RMB 263,500 ($35,940) and a long-range all-wheel-drive version with a starting price of RMB 303,500.
The most notable change to the facelifted Model Y is the exterior design, which draws inspiration from the Cybertruck and Cybercab robotaxi. Its battery and powertrain have also been upgraded.
Tesla's Chinese website began to offer seating layout options for the SUV. Though only the 5-seater version is currently available, the move implies the possibility of three-row seating variants.
Along with the launch of the facelifted Model Y, the Model 3's price was raised in China and the entry-level version received a range upgrade.
Tesla has a factory in Shanghai that began operations at the end of 2019 and started deliveries of the locally produced Model 3 in January 2020 and the locally produced Model Y in January 2021.
On October 19, 2023, Tesla officially began selling the updated Model 3 in China, bringing some changes to the exterior and features.
Tesla China sold 93,766 vehicles in December, including 82,927 sold in China and 10,839 exported from its Shanghai factory, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
The company's retail sales in China in 2024 were 657,102 units, an 8.85 percent increase from 2023.
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