Tesla Reports 87% Increase in Vehicle Deliveries Last Year... 300,000 Units Delivered in 4Q Alone

Successful Expansion of Production Volume Despite Semiconductor Shortage

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. electric vehicle company Tesla announced on the 2nd (local time) that its sales volume surged by 87% last year.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The number of vehicles Tesla delivered last year was 936,172 units. In the fourth quarter alone, it delivered 308,600 units. This greatly exceeded analysts' fourth-quarter delivery forecast of 267,000 units and the annual total delivery forecast of 897,000 units.

Tesla's vehicle deliveries also showed a significant increase compared to 241,300 units in the third quarter. Tesla produced 305,840 vehicles in the fourth quarter alone, proving that mass production of electric vehicles is on track. This dramatic growth is even more pronounced compared to the 180,000 units produced in the fourth quarter of 2020.

CNBC reported that Tesla overcame the semiconductor supply shortage by expanding production at its Shanghai factory in China and using software technology or removing some parts in the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal also praised Tesla, based in Silicon Valley, for breaking through the semiconductor shortage and growing at the fastest pace in recent years.

Tesla's growth is outstanding even compared to the automotive industry. According to research firm IHS Markit, global passenger car sales grew by only 3% last year, which is still 12% lower than in 2019.

Although Tesla's vehicle deliveries and sales increased significantly, CEO Elon Musk's goal is even bigger. Musk has declared that Tesla will increase its annual vehicle sales to 20 million units over the next nine years.

Tesla will start operating factories built in Austin, Texas, and Brandenburg, Germany, this year. After establishing the production base, Tesla plans to begin deliveries of the electric pickup truck Cybertruck next year.

In a situation where electric vehicle supply is becoming full-scale, production capacity is an important benchmark. Having proactively established a mass production base can be a foundation to lead the competition.

Dan Levy, an analyst at Credit Suisse, predicted, "This year's vehicle delivery volume will be an important turning point showing Tesla's supply capability."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.