Tesla sees 3 millionth China-made car roll off line at Shanghai plant
Tesla's Shanghai factory took 32 months to produce its first one million vehicles, and just 13 months to get from its two millionth to the three millionth vehicle.
Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Shanghai factory saw its 3 millionth vehicle roll off the assembly line today, marking the latest milestone for its largest factory in the world.
The US electric vehicle (EV) maker shared the development on Weibo today, saying it comes less than five years after the plant went into operation.
The factory produced its first 1 million vehicles in 32 months and went from 2 million to 3 million in just 13 months, Tesla said, adding that it doubled its growth in even less time.
Giga Shanghai is Tesla's most efficient factory, with a car rolling off the line in over 30 seconds on average, the EV maker said.
The factory is also Tesla's global export hub, having exported one million vehicles to multiple countries in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Tesla said.
Tesla's Shanghai factory began construction on January 7, 2019, and became operational at the end of 2019. It is the first wholly foreign-owned auto manufacturing project in China.
Giga Shanghai began delivering Model 3 sedans in January 2020 and Model Y crossovers in January 2021 to local consumers.
Giga Shanghai saw its one millionth mass-produced vehicle roll off the assembly line on August 13, 2022, and saw the milestone of its two millionth vehicle roll off the assembly line on September 6, 2023.
The factory is highly automated, with a 95 percent automation rate, Tesla previously said.
Hundreds of robotic arms are at work here, allowing jobs that used to take hundreds or thousands of people to complete to be done by just a few dozen today, Tesla said last September.
In the third quarter, Tesla sold a record 249,135 China-made vehicles, up 11.96 percent year-on-year and up 21.09 percent from the second quarter, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
Sales in the quarter contributed 53.82 percent of Tesla's global deliveries of 462,890, up from 46.34 percent in the second quarter and up from 51.15 percent a year ago.
On September 28, Tesla said it reached the 1 million vehicle milestone for exports from China.
Earlier today, Tesla unveiled the robotaxi in the US, called Cybercab, which is expected to cost less than $30,000 and be in production by 2026.
It also unveiled the Robovan driverless van today, which can carry 20 passengers and can also be used for cargo transportation.
Tesla delivers 462,890 cars globally in Q3, higher than BYD's BEV sales