Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai Photo:VCG

Tesla's Gigafactory Shanghai continues to be the main "export hub" of the US electric car maker, the company said in its 2021 financial results, released on Wednesday.

Total revenue grew 65 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2021 to $17.7 billion mainly due to the growth in vehicle deliveries, the company said. In 2021 global deliveries were up 87 percent compared with 2020. 

Production of both Model 3 and Model Y continued to ramp up throughout 2021 in Shanghai and local production is essential for reducing the cost per vehicle and improving the stability of the firm's global supply chain, the financial result said.

In 2021, Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai delivered 484,130 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 235 percent. More than 160,000 vehicles were delivered to overseas markets to 10 countries and regions across the Europe and Asia, accounting for 51.7 percent of Tesla's global delivery.

Asked about how Tesla has improved profit rates, Zach Kirkhorn, CFO of Tesla said Model Y is the key because its profit margin is much higher than Model 3. The localization of Gigafactory Shanghai is also an important factor, as localization is -helpful in driving up profit margin.

Despite the global supply chain crunch and chip shortage the production capacity of the Gigafactory Shanghai was further improved in 2021, with parts localization rate reaching 86 percent. In the third quarter of 2021, the output of Model 3 and Model Y from Gigafactory Shanghai exceeded that of the firm's California Fremont factory for the first time.

Tesla has aimed to increase the production as quickly as possible, not only through ramping up production at new factories in Austin and Berlin, but also by maximizing output from-established factories in Fremont and Shanghai, according to the financial result.

In 2021, Tesla completed its high anticipated research and development (R&D) and innovation center and its Gigafactory data center in Shanghai.

The R&D center in Shanghai is its first overseas R&D center dedicated to the vehicle development. It has 28 laboratories which focus on the development of Tesla's software, hardware, process and technology in China. The Shanghai Gigafactory data center is used to store factory production data during its operation in China.

Zhu Xiaotong, president of Tesla's Greater China region, said that amid the global transition to sustainable energy, Tesla has fulfilled its commitment to focusing on the Chinese market.