There is a reason why Gigafactory Shanghai is Tesla’s largest electric vehicle factory by output. With the first quarter of 2024 ending in a few weeks, Tesla China seems to have started gathering yet another massive fleet of vehicles for export.
Gigafactory Shanghai serves as the electric vehicle maker’s primary vehicle export hub. As such, many territories, from countries in Europe to Asia and Australia, rely on Giga Shanghai’s exports for their supply of Model 3 sedans. It is then no surprise that a fleet of the all-electric vehicles was sighted at the Shanghai Southport Terminal in a recent drone flyover by a longtime Tesla China watcher.
Drone footage from Wu Wa, who has been chronicling the growth and development of Giga Shanghai since its earliest days, has shown that Tesla China is gathering yet another round of vehicle exports this March. Tesla is still in the process of filling out its designated area in the Shanghai Southport Terminal at the time of the flyover on Sunday local time, but for now, most of the vehicles in the location are upgraded Tesla Model 3 sedans.
The growing fleet of upgraded Tesla Model 3 at the Shanghai Southport Terminal bodes well for the demand for the improved all-electric vehicle. The Model 3, after all, is only produced in two out of Tesla’s four main electric vehicle factories today. Thus, the world’s supply of upgraded Model 3 units is met by just Tesla’s Fremont Factory in California and Gigafactory Shanghai in China.
Tesla China has previously adopted a strategy that involved Giga Shanghai producing vehicles for export in the first half of a quarter and the facility producing cars for the domestic Chinese segment in the latter half of a quarter. This strategy seems to be changing, as Tesla China’s domestic insurance registrations saw a notable rise as early as January, and vehicles are still being exported in the closing weeks of Q1 2024.
Gigafactory Shanghai plays a notable role in Tesla’s global operations. As per Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2023 Update Letter, Giga Shanghai has an estimated annual output of more than 950,000 vehicles. This makes Giga Shanghai Tesla’s highest output vehicle factory, at least for now.
Watch Wu Wa’s recent drone flyover of the Shanghai Southport Terminal in the video below.
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