What’s new: Shanghai-based automobile assembly and parts manufacturing units of SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. started stress tests to resume production after nearly three weeks of disruption caused by a citywide Covid lockdown, the country’s largest automaker told Caixin Monday.
SAIC Motor and its units including SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC General Motors Corp., Huayu Automotive Systems Co. Ltd. and SAIC Anji Logistics Co. Ltd. started preparing to restart operations, focusing on measures to ensure personnel and supply chains under closed-loop management with virus-control measures, SAIC Motor said.
The company said it will dynamically plan production according to the trend of the Covid-19 flare-up. Company sources called it a challenging task for factories to ensure enough workforce and smooth logistics flow as lockdown measures persist.
The background: The Shanghai city government moved Monday to partially resume industrial operations as the city enters its fourth week of lockdowns.
Shanghai issued a list of 666 major manufacturers that could potentially resume operations with workers in a strictly enforced bubble. Two-fifths of the 666 companies on the list are in the automotive sector, according to the document obtained by Caixin.
Tesla Inc., whose factory in the Pudong New Area halted production March 28, was on the list and was categorized as being one of the businesses that “must resume production.”
Shanghai is an essential hub for the world’s largest auto market. As Covid-19 restrictions disrupted parts suppliers in Shanghai and other places, a broader swath of the industry was forced to halt.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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