On April 28, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology announced the second batch of "whitelists" of Shanghai enterprises to resume work and production, including many core enterprises related to the automobile industry chain. This also means that two weeks after the release of the "white list" of the first batch of enterprises to resume work and production in Shanghai on April 16, more and more enterprises related to the Shanghai automobile industry chain have joined the ranks of resumption of work and production.

　　So, two weeks after the release of the first batch of "white list", what is the current progress of the resumption of work and production of related enterprises in the Shanghai automobile industry chain?

　　SAIC, Tesla's production capacity rebounded significantly

　　April 18 was the first working day after the release of the "white list" of the first batch of enterprises to resume work and production in Shanghai. Many subsidiaries of SAIC Group, as the first batch of enterprises allowed to resume work, entered the pressure of resumption of work and production that day. test session. After the test, a number of SAIC companies officially resumed work and production on April 19. Among them, SAIC Passenger Cars has launched more than 200 complete vehicles today. One week after the resumption of production, SAIC Motor revealed to the public that its Lingang plant has more than 4,000 employees and adopts single-shift closed production. According to people familiar with the matter, the current capacity utilization rate of SAIC Passenger Vehicles has increased from less than 20% a week after the resumption of production to nearly 40%.

　　The complete vehicle of SAIC Passenger Car's Lingang Plant is off the assembly line. Image source: SAIC Passenger Car

　　The Tesla Gigafactory, which is not far from the SAIC Passenger Car Lingang Plant, also officially started the resumption of production on April 19. At present, 8,000 employees live in the Tesla Gigafactory for single-shift production, and the capacity utilization rate has also increased from less than 30% in the first week to nearly 50%.

　　In addition to SAIC Passenger Cars and Tesla located in Lingang, Pudong, SAIC Volkswagen, which is based in Anting, Jiading, is also conducting closed-loop production. According to Jiang Yu, an employee of SAIC Volkswagen, both SAIC Volkswagen's third plant and MEB plant have resumed production. However, a week ago, an employee of the third plant was infected with the new crown, and the production line was temporarily suspended. However, due to the timely detection, it did not cause much impact. According to people familiar with the matter, as of the end of April, the capacity utilization rate of SAIC Volkswagen's Anting Plant 3 and MEB Plant was less than 30%. In addition, SAIC Volkswagen Plant 1 and Plant 2 will resume work and production in early May.

　　Closed-loop production of car companies, picture source: SAIC

　　Since April 1, when Shanghai implemented the zoning control, until April 18, many local OEMs in Shanghai have been in a state of shutdown. Analysts from the Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute pointed out that from April 1st to 18th, the shutdown of many OEMs in Shanghai will directly lead to a loss of nearly 100,000 vehicles in Shanghai Auto. With relief, it is expected that the total production of automobiles in Shanghai will decrease by 124,000 vehicles throughout April. At present, the production capacity recovery progress of several OEMs in Shanghai is different. Judging from the month-on-month situation in recent weeks, the overall capacity utilization rate has increased significantly from 0 to 10% to the current 30% or more. This also means that the Shanghai auto industry, which was forced to press the pause button due to the epidemic, is gradually recovering. Of course, the increase in the production capacity of OEMs is inseparable from the assistance of major parts and logistics companies.

　　Parts companies struggle to ensure supply

　　Among the first batch of 666 enterprises that have resumed work and production announced by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, there are many auto parts enterprises. The resumption of work and production of these enterprises is not only conducive to the smooth start of construction of several local OEMs in Shanghai, but also to the whole country and even the whole country. The normal operation of global OEMs has played a role in promoting. As Zhang Xiaomao, an employee of an auto parts company of SAIC, said, "As an upstream industrial chain of OEMs, we serve many customers at the same time, so our work is more urgent."

　　During the whole month of April, which was shrouded in the epidemic, in order to ensure supply, major parts and components companies formulated a series of measures. For example, Aptiv has carried out closed-loop production intermittently since the outbreak of the epidemic in March. After Shanghai entered static management in April, About 1,800 employees of Aptiv continue to produce in the factory.

　　Aptiv connector factory, picture source: Aptiv

　　There are not a few parts and components companies like Aptiv that continue to carry out closed production after entering static management in the whole area of ​​Shanghai. According to Yin Shufei, vice president of Shanghai Baolong Automotive Technology Co., Ltd., Baolong’s factory in Songjiang, Shanghai has been in production since April 1. In closed production, current output has recovered to 60% of pre-pandemic levels.

　　During the epidemic, closed-loop production has posed huge challenges to production rhythm, material supply and employee epidemic prevention. Among them, how to ensure the uninterrupted supply of raw materials and supplier materials is a problem faced by major parts and components companies. According to Shen Guoliang, general manager of Aptiv Connector System China, Aptiv has reserved material inventory for 10 days since March 31, when it entered closed-loop production. Coordinate suppliers and logistics, and find ways to replenish materials. "Our aim is to try to bring in all the inventory when we have inventory. If there is no inventory, we will coordinate with suppliers to help us produce as much as possible, and we will solve the problem of transportation of goods." Shen Guoliang said in an interview with Gasgoo.

　　Although many parts companies have made efforts to ensure supply, judging from the current supply of parts and components of OEMs in Shanghai, they are still facing severe pressure to ensure supply.

　　According to Yin Mi, an automotive industry analyst, what car companies lack most at present are chips related to autonomous driving, ESP and controllers, such as Bosch's ESP, as well as headlight controllers, body controllers, and autonomous driving domain controllers. ; In addition, there are also some regional shortages of spare parts in the industry affected by the epidemic. For example, there are more chassis parts, shock absorbers, sub-frames, wiring harnesses, cooling systems, etc. distributed in Shanghai and Jiangsu. Parts companies, the supply of these parts is also currently affected.

　　However, with the release of the second batch of "whitelists" for resumption of work and production in Shanghai, the shortage of regional parts and components affected by the epidemic will soon be eased. At present, another major problem that restricts the progress of Shanghai's auto industry's resumption of work and production is reflected in logistics.

　　How does the "blood" of logistics move?

　　For the automobile industry chain with a huge span and a wide range of areas, logistics is the "blood". Only when this "blood" moves, can enterprises resume work smoothly and the entire industry chain can operate efficiently. However, since the outbreak of the epidemic, especially after Shanghai entered the static management period of the whole region, logistics has been seriously hindered.

　　"Half a month ago, Shanghai's external logistics was basically impossible to get through, and it was very difficult to even pass within Shanghai. However, with the issuance of passes in the past week or so, the logistics from Shanghai to other places have been opened, but there are very few vehicles, plus Drivers need to be quarantined for up to 14 days after they go out of town, and the cost is high, so the freight is several times higher than usual." said Wang Xin, an employee of a logistics company.

　　According to Chen Jiawei, vice president of Shanghai Nengyun Logistics, the proportion of Shanghai's restoration of roads is currently less than 10%. "In addition to epidemic prevention materials, medical materials, emergency relief materials, etc., some important production materials are also allowed to go on the road, but the overall recovery is not very good." Chen Jiawei said.

　　As far as the logistics of the automobile industry is concerned, Lin Wenjie, chairman of Shanghai Yachu Logistics, said that the current vehicle transportation can basically operate normally, but the transportation of parts is still limited. In addition, in the processing of vehicle passes, the current policy has increased the requirement of "point-to-point", which restricts the driving routes of vehicles. A number of relevant practitioners of automobile logistics companies said that because most of the customers served by logistics companies have cross-regional or cross-provincial needs, the current "point-to-point" pass policy reduces the efficiency of logistics and transportation, and indirectly increases the cost of logistics and transportation.

　　However, "the hardest time has passed." Lin Wenjie said that as the epidemic control situation gradually stabilizes and more companies join the ranks of resumption of work and production, the relevant government policies have also been relaxed, such as being included in the resumption of work and production. Enterprises on the "white list" can also apply for a pass according to the normal process, so that their own company's vehicles can pass normally.

　　Judging from the current epidemic prevention and control situation, the industry generally believes that by mid-May, the logistics traffic situation will improve significantly. The further smooth flow of logistics will undoubtedly play a positive role in promoting the large-scale resumption of work and production of related enterprises in the entire automobile industry chain.