Tesla Sells 44,464 China-made Vehicles in August, Local Deliveries Surge 49.5% Compared to July

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【Summary】Electric automaker Tesla has experienced a sales rebound in China after local sales of China-made vehicles fell by 69% in July. In August, local sales of China-made vehicles reached 12,885 vehicles, representing a 49.5% increase from the previous month.

FutureCar Staff Oct 15, 2021 1:00 PM PT

Tesla Sells 44,464 China-made Vehicles in August, Local Deliveries Surge 49.5% Compared to July

Tesla's Shanghai factory builds the Model 3 & Model Y for the local market and for export.

Electric automaker Tesla has experienced a sales rebound in China after local sales of China-made vehicles fell by 69% in July compared to the 28,138 vehicles Tesla sold to Chinese customers in June.

In August, local sales of China-made vehicles reached 12,885 vehicles, representing a 49.5% increase from the 8,621 vehicles Tesla sold in July, China's Passenger Car Association (CPCA) reported on Wednesday.

Tesla currently builds the Model 3 and Model Y in Shanghai for the local market and for export.

For the month of August, Tesla sold 44,264 China-made vehicles, but nearly 75% of them (31,379 vehicles) were exported to other countries, mainly in Europe.

This compares to Tesla's June sales in China, which were much better. In June, sales of Tesla's China-made vehicles reached 33,155 vehicles. Of that amount, 84% (28,138 vehicles) were sold to customers in China.

Although Tesla's local in China sales fell significantly in July, overall vehicle production at the company's Shanghai factory is on the rise. Tesla's China-made vehicles sales of 44,264 in August are roughly 30% higher than the 32,968 vehicles it sold in July.The numbers indicate that Tesla is ramping up production in China to meet global demand, but at the same time, local sales in China are becoming a smaller percentage of its monthly vehicle production.

Tesla is also facing growing competition in China from EV startups XPeng, NIO Inc. and Li Auto, as well as from China's domestic automakers, which are introducing new electric models. In August, XPeng announced it was doubling its manufacturing capacity in China from 100,000 vehicles a year to 200,000 due to growing demand.

In July, Tesla introduced a cheaper version of the Model Y in China to better compete in the local market.

China's total passenger cars sales for August has declined year-over-year. CPCA said passenger car sales in August in China totalled 1.5 million vehicles, down 14.7% from a year ago.