By Michael Elkins
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw positive pre-market activity today (up over 3%), following data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), showing that the electric vehicle maker sold 32,165 China-made vehicles in May, including 22,340 for export.
The company’s May output of 33,544 units more than triples its numbers from April as Tesla shows a remarkable comeback from its Shanghai plant being shut down for 22 days in March to comply with a city-wide lockdown. The plant reopened on April 19 and resumed exports on May 11 but has struggled to get production back to pre-lockdown levels.
The factory has been working in a closed-loop system, keeping thousands of workers on site, and quarantined in a desperate move to restore Chinese output while the city worked to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the area. Even so, EVs produced in May were still only about 50% of what Tesla’s China plant does in a regular month when operations are running as normal. However, now the Tesla Shanghai workers can return home for the first time in weeks.
Tesla wasn’t the only vehicle maker to struggle through. According to the CPCA, not a single car was sold in Shanghai last month, but new energy vehicle retail sales jumped 91.2% from May 2021 to 360,000 units. The PCA expects a continued rebound in June.
“The industry has witnessed a strong improvement in its supply chain under the current policy of ensuring production in Changchun and Shanghai,” PCA Secretary General Cui Dongshu said during a briefing Thursday.
Tesla also got a boost from UBS, which upgraded the carmaker to 'buy' from 'neutral', with a $1,100 price target, citing its record-breaking order book and the potential impact from new factories in Austin and Berlin.