(Yicai Global) June 10 -- US electric car manufacturer Tesla’s gigafactory in Shanghai is back to 100 percent capacity as the city’s two-month lockdown to stem an outbreak of Covid-19 is fully lifted and operations and logistics return to normal.

Over 40,000 autos have rolled off the production line since the plant reopened after a three-week shutdown on April 19, Tesla China said yesterday. Output was being held back by difficulties in getting components.

And, despite Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s reported plans to lay off 10 percent of staff, Tesla China is looking to fill more than 200 job vacancies, including for managers and engineers. Yesterday the firm held an online recruitment event, adding dozens of new job posts in smart manufacturing.

More than 90 percent of Tesla’s auto parts, including batteries, chips, self-driving systems, interior furnishings and precision processing, are sourced locally. The carmaker has set up a complete ecological chain in the Yangtze River Delta region, which comprises Shanghai and the surrounding areas. Many suppliers are located in nearby cities, such as Suzhou and Nantong in Jiangsu province and Ningbo in Zhejiang province.

Chinese automaker and battery manufacturer BYD will start supplying Tesla with batteries, Executive Vice President Lian Yubo said on June 8. At the moment Tesla’s battery suppliers in China are Contemporary Amperex Technology, South Korea’s LG Chem and Japan’s Panasonic.

Tesla sold 32,165 vehicles last month, less than half of March’s output but still a big improvement on April when the California-based firm only shifted 1,512 autos, according to the China Passenger Car Association. In the five months ended May 31, Tesla shipped 215,851 vehicles, a more than 50 percent jump from the same period last year.

Since opening in 2019, the Shanghai plant has become Tesla’s largest production base. Last year, it delivered more than 480,000 vehicles, accounting for 52 percent of the company’s worldwide total, including 160,000 exported overseas.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Kim Taylor