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 about snarled supply chains, AFP reported on Friday.

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 per cent 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 per cent 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,” He Xiaopeng, chief of XPeng — Chinese challenger to US electric car giant Tesla —said Thursday on social media.