Tesla has never handed over more vehicles to customers than this summer. But without the lockdown and delivery problems in China, it could have been even more. It is precisely this mixed situation in the important market that worries investors.
The electric car manufacturer Tesla failed to meet analysts’ expectations in the summer despite a delivery record. The stock market was down almost 7 percent in early trading. The US company had previously announced that it had handed over almost 344,000 cars to its customers between June and the end of September. However, experts had expected an average of more than 359,000 vehicles.
Tesla was slowed down by production interruptions due to corona lockdowns at its Shanghai plant and logistics problems. As production volumes continue to increase, it becomes increasingly difficult to secure vehicle hauling capacity at a reasonable cost during peak logistics weeks, Tesla said. In the third quarter of 2021, Tesla delivered 241,300 cars. Models produced in China are likely to be particularly affected, commented analyst Jeffrey Osborne from asset manager Cowen. The big question now is whether business there will cool down.
Total production increased by more than 40 percent to 365,923 vehicles in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. According to internal plans, Tesla wants to significantly increase production of its best-selling electric vehicles Model Y and Model 3 in the fourth quarter and continue this growth with the ramp-up of the plants in Austin and Grünheide near Berlin by 2023.
According to internal plans, the US company plans to produce almost 495,000 Model Y and Model 3 vehicles in the final quarter of 2022. That would be around 40 percent more than the average analyst forecast. Tesla would thus also almost tenfold the growth of the global automobile market forecast for 2023 with an increase in production of more than 50 percent. In the past, however, Tesla has set goals several times, which it then had to withdraw.
