Shanghai lockdowns threaten China’s automotive production

Chinese auto makers warned they may have to put the brakes on production if strict COVID-19 curbs in Shanghai persist, with a top Huawei executive also sounding the alarm on April 15 about snarled supply chains.

The restrictions have kept Shanghai's 25 million residents mostly at home for weeks, forcing manufacturers to halt operations and making China's GDP growth target of around 5.5 percent look increasingly difficult to achieve.

COVID outbreaks across the country and the associated reductions in economic activity have already hit the auto industry hard, with car sales dropping 10.5 percent in March.

"If supply chain companies in Shanghai and its surrounding areas cannot find a way to dynamically resume work and production, all original equipment manufacturers may have to stop production in May," XPeng chief He Xiaopeng said on April 14 on social media.

XPeng has been touted as a Chinese challenger to U.S. electric car giant Tesla, and its chief said that businesses were hoping for more support from the authorities to navigate the COVID closures.

A top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei - which has started to work with domestic auto manufacturers in the intelligent vehicle sector - echoed the comments on April 15 and warned the clock was ticking.

"If Shanghai continues being unable to resume work and production, from May, all tech and industrial players involving the Shanghai supply chain will completely shut down, especially the auto industry!" Richard Yu, head of Huawei's consumer and auto segment, said on the social media platform WeChat.

Huawei sold its first 3,000 electric vehicles with the company's HarmonyOS operating system in March.

The group has been working with automakers to provide...