“This quarter was *unusually* challenging due to supply chain disruptions and China’s zero Covid policy,” CEO Elon Musk tweeted.
Tesla delivered 310,048 vehicles during the quarter, a slight increase from the prior quarter, and a 68% increase over the prior year. The Exchange had forecast deliveries of 308,836 cars, according to Refinitiv data.
Tesla produced 305,407 vehicles in the January-March period, compared to 305,840 in the prior quarter.
Tesla, the world’s most valuable automaker, has boosted sales, navigating better than rivals through the pandemic and supply chain disruptions, and thanks to its new Shanghai factory in China, which has stimulates growth.
But a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in China has forced Tesla to temporarily suspend production at its Shanghai factory as the city goes into lockdown to test residents for the disease.
Deliveries are “better than feared given supply chain issues,” Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said in a report.
Tesla said it sold a total of 295,324 Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport utility vehicles, while it delivered 14,724 Model S luxury sedans and Model X premium sport utility vehicles.
PRICE INCREASE
Soaring gas prices caused by the Ukraine crisis should fuel demand for electric cars, but lack of inventory and rising vehicle prices would weigh on sales, analysts said.
Tesla raised prices in China and the United States https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-raises-prices-some-china-made-vehicles-2022-03-15 after the CEO Elon Musk said the US electric carmaker was facing significant inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics after Russia invaded Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-says-tesla-spacex-facing-significant-inflation-pressure-2022-03-14
Tesla began delivering vehicles made at its plant in Gruenheide, Germany, in March and deliveries of cars made at its plant in Austin, Texas were expected to begin soon.
“Impressive (the deliveries) considering all the headwinds,” said Gene Munster, managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, adding that he expects Tesla to outperform other automakers in terms of vehicle sales.
Toyota and GM, Hyundai Motor said on Friday that its US first-quarter sales were down from a year earlier.
Last year, cars made in China by Tesla accounted for about half of the 936,000 vehicles it delivered worldwide. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also said in October that Shanghai had overtaken the factory in Fremont, California – the company’s first plant – in terms of production.
The two existing plants are key to Tesla’s goal of increasing shipments by 50% this year, as its new plants in Berlin and Texas are expected to see production ramp up slowly in their first year of production.