▲ Tesla
U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla plans to significantly increase production at its European manufacturing hub in Germany.
Unlike German automakers that are struggling, Tesla is benefiting from various European policies, including electric vehicle subsidies.
The German weekly newspaper Die Zeit reported on July 19 (local time), citing the factory's annual report, that Tesla's German plant will increase production to a maximum of 7,500 units per week, or 375,000 units annually, starting this October.
This figure is nearly double the 202,000 units produced at the German plant last year.
The factory's utilization rate was 54 percent last year.
The goal for this year is effectively to raise the factory's utilization rate to 100 percent.
Although production last year decreased by 9,000 units compared to 2024, net profit increased by approximately 20 million euros (about 33.9 billion won) to 77.1 million euros (about 130.7 billion won).
Opened in 2022 in Grünheide, Brandenburg, Germany, this factory is Tesla's only production base in Europe and manufactures the Model Y.
Most of the vehicles produced there are sold within Europe.
Tesla is pushing to expand the factory to increase its production capacity from the current 375,000 units to 1 million units, but the project has been sluggish due to opposition from residents concerned about environmental damage.
Tesla is performing well in the local market compared to European companies suffering from management difficulties due to excess production capacity for internal combustion engine vehicles.
In May of this year, the number of new Tesla registrations increased by 655 percent in France, 322 percent in Germany, and 349 percent in Portugal compared to the same period last year.
This is interpreted as being due to a surge in demand for electric vehicles caused by rising oil prices, in addition to purchase subsidies and tax benefits in each country.
In Germany, Europe's largest automobile producer, there is also criticism that government subsidies are going more to Tesla than to domestic companies struggling with financial difficulties.
According to the daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), the German government spent 53.9 million euros (about 91.3 billion won) on electric vehicle subsidies in the first half of this year.
By company, Tesla accounted for the highest number with 2,086 cases, while German companies Volkswagen and BMW had only 593 and 451 cases, respectively.
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