Tesla to slow down car delivery in China as coronavirus spreads

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Due to the spread of new coronavirus, EV manufacturer Tesla will slow down its new car delivery in China which was supposed to be handled after the Lunar New Year holiday, according to Tesla global vice president Grace Tao, who replied to a Weibo follower on February 4.

Ms. Tao said Tesla will strive to speed up the delivery after the epidemic infection is mitigated, in a bid to offset the virus-caused slowdown. Thus, it is drawing up relevant plans.

Besides, the coronavirus outbreak has also postponed Tesla's production at the Gigafactory 3. “At this point we're expecting a one to one-and-a-half week delay in the ramp of Shanghai-built Model 3s due to a government required factory shutdown,” Tesla's chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn said during an earnings call on Jan. 29.

It took the high-profiled EV manufacturer just 168 working days to go from permits to a completed Shanghai plant, an astounding feat in the eyes of both fans and critics.

On the last day of 2019, the first batch of China-built Model 3 BEVs was handed over to 15 Tesla employees at the Shanghai plant. Only a week later, Tesla formally kicked off the larger-scale delivery of the locally-produced sedans. Besides, the project of the Model Y was launched there at the same time, while the timeline still remained unknown.

Tesla sets a milestone to China's auto industry as the Gigafactory 3 is the country's first car manufacturing plant wholly-owned by a foreign enterprise. Up until now, local authorities have effectively turned on many policy green lights to support the EV marker's China offensive. For instance, the homegrown Model 3 has been exempted from the vehicle purchase tax on NEVs. Additionally, car buyers of the China-made car can enjoy the national NEV subsidy as the model has been listed in the Catalogue of Recommended Models for NEV Popularization and Application issued by the MIIT.

Aside from the policy enticement, Tesla has entered into agreements with lenders in China for a secured term loan facility of up to RMB9 billion, according to a regulatory filing on December 26, 2019.

The lenders are China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, according to the filing.