Tesla’s China-Made Vehicles See Sales Crash 24% In July

Tesla’s registrations of China-made vehicles in the world’s largest auto market slumped by 24 percent month over month to 11,456 in July, Bloomberg reported, citing data from state-backed China Automotive Information Net.

The lower registrations in China for China-made Teslas come as Tesla’s major competitors saw their registrations rise. NIO, for example, saw its deliveries in July jump four times to 3,533 vehicles, according to the data.

The Chinese market is one of Tesla’s most important foreign markets and hosts the U.S. electric vehicle maker’s first production factory outside the United States.

In early January this year, Tesla delivered its first cars to customers from its newly built Gigafactory in Shanghai, just a year after it broke ground on the site for the construction.

Sales in China of Tesla’s electric vehicles made in China rebounded to hit a record in May, five months after the first cars from the Shanghai Gigafactory were delivered to customers.

Tesla’s sales in China further jumped in June, by 35 percent from May to 14,954 vehicles made in China, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed.

“Model 3 has received a strong reception in China, not only becoming the bestselling EV, but also competing with mid-sized premium sedans, such as BMW 3- series and Mercedes C- (even before subsidies and vehicle tax), reduced operating costs and industry-leading standard equipment,” Tesla said about its Shanghai operations in the Q2 2020 update last month.

Tesla’s revenues in China doubled to US$1.4 billion for the second quarter of 2020, from US$690 million for Q2 2019, the company said in an SEC filing in July.

Globally, Tesla Model 3 was the best-selling EV in June, with more than 35,800 Model 3s sold in June and over 142,340 Model 3 sales year to date, with a market share of 15 percent, according to EV Sales.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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