Exclusive-Tesla Berlin to stop most output for two weeks due to Red Sea disruption
By Victoria Waldersee
BERLIN (Reuters) -Tesla will suspend most car production at its factory near Berlin from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11, the company said on Thursday, citing a lack of components due to shifts in transport routes because of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
The partial production stop is evidence that the crisis in the Red Sea, unleashed by Iranian-backed Houthi militants attacking vessels in solidarity with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fighting Israel in Gaza, has hit Europe's largest economy.
The U.S. electric vehicle maker is the first company to disclose an interruption to output due to the disruption. Many companies including Geely, China's second-largest automaker by sales, and Swedish home furnishing company Ikea have warned of delays to deliveries.
«The armed conflicts in the Red Sea and the associated shifts in transport routes between Europe and Asia via the Cape of Good Hope are also having an impact on production in Gruenheide,» Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) said in a statement.
«The considerably longer transportation times are creating a gap in supply chains.»
Analysts expect that other automakers could suffer fallout from the Red Sea conflict.
«Relying on so many key components from Asia, and specifically China, has been a potential weak spot in any automaker’s supply chain. Tesla relies heavily on China for battery components, which need to be transported to Europe through the Red Sea, putting production constantly at risk,» said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions which tracks automotive supply chains and production.
«It can’t be believed that they’re alone, only the first to reflect the issue,» he said.
The disruption adds pressure on Tesla at a time when it is also fighting a
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