Tesla's Shanghai factory marked the production of its two millionth electric vehicle, just 13 months after the counter turned "one-million."
To learn the secret behind the company's remarkable efficiency, the staff at Tesla generously agreed to give me a tour of the factory floor.
Before they did, however, they told me that cost optimization was one key factor. Another was the incorporation of all this super-smart automated equipment.
ZHENG CHUNYING Shanghai "You can barely see any staff on the production line. Almost all of the steps in the production process are completed using advanced robotics. And all are connected to one cloud system that registers every single movement of the robotic arms and tools. Employees basically oversee the process, ensuring that everything is assembled as it should be."
And, according to the staff here, the availability of impressive production ramp can be partly attributed to its location in Shanghai's pilot free-trade zone.
It is all about location when a company must choose where to put its business premises. And Tesla certainly seems to have that down to a fine art. At Shanghai, everything the factory needs is virtually at its finger-tips.
ZHENG CHUNYING Shanghai "As a wholly foreign-owned project, the team at Tesla's Shanghai plant is 99.9 percent Chinese, and the supply chain is already more than 95 percent localized, which means over 95 percent of the parts in the factory comes from local suppliers."
Meanwhile, unlike other multinational companies that come to China to only sell in China, Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai eyes the entire global market.
It has become a global export hub for the company, whose cars now sell very well across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.
Data shows that the Shanghai facility accounted for more than half of Tesla's global sales in 2022
Tesla's chief even had rousing words to say about the facility during a recent visit.
ZHENG CHUNYING Shanghai "This shanghai gigafactory's success has convinced many that Tesla's bet on China a wise choice, but on the other hand, as the first wholly foreign-owned auto manufacturing project in China, what has Tesla's investment in Shanghai brought to China?"
And I took that question to Mr. Sun Xiaohe, chief of the Finance and Trade Division of the Administrative Committee of the Lingang Special Area.
He believes that Tesla's factory in China has somehow managed to empower the development of the advanced manufacturing industry here.
SUN XIAOHE Chief of Finance and Trade Division Administrative Committee of the Lingang Special Area "After Tesla entered the Chinese market, our overall new energy battery technology, our new energy vehicle software technology, and the whole car factories have made rapid progress. There is no doubt that Tesla, a foreign-funded enterprise with very strong technical strength, has given us some help. In addition, Tesla has a great role in promoting local employment, as well as the training of blue-collar senior technicians in our country."
In recent years, China has surged ahead in its push towards electric mobility, emerging as the world's largest electric-car market.
Experts believe that Tesla's entry into China had a role to play in this remarkable EV boom in the country.
BILL RUSSO Chairman of Auto Committee AmCham Shanghai "When the model three launched in Shanghai, Chinese consumers were really not that interested in electric vehicles, but once Tesla was here, a retail consumer interests really accelerated from 1.2 million new energy vehicles a year until last year 6.9 million. Now that's benefited a lot of Chinese brands as well as Tesla."
Tesla's success in China shows what can be achieved when the world's two biggest economies choose to cooperate.
The American auto-maker seems to understand that better than most, because it's now looking to increase its bet on China even further.
Earlier this year, it announced another new mega-factory for Shanghai; this one will be dedicated to the manufacture of the company's energy-storage product, the Megapack.
It's exciting times for Shanghai and Tesla, yet with the orders flying it, it's foot to the floor to reach three million units as soon as possible. ZCY, CGTN, Shanghai.