Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Tesla sold 74,127 vehicles in China last month, while exports from its Shanghai plant stood at 4,701 units, according to data released Wednesday by the China Passenger Car Association.
The company’s March wholesale volume — which includes both domestic sales and exports — reached 78,841 units, up 156.9% from February’s seasonal low but down 11.5% from a year earlier.
Tesla’s local deliveries rose 18.1% year-on-year in March, and sales in the first quarter climbed 1.3% from the same period last year, the CPCA data showed. The U.S. automaker delivered 134,607 vehicles to Chinese customers in Q1, accounting for nearly 40% of its global deliveries.
Model 3 sales totaled 29,847 units in March, rising 31.5% from February but down 5.3% year-on-year. Deliveries of the Model Y surged more than sixfold to 48,994 units from the previous month, yet remained 14.9% lower than a year earlier.
Tesla shifted its production focus to exports in early April, contributing to a sharp decline in weekly retail figures. The company sold 3,580 vehicles in China in the week ending April 6, down 83% from the final week of March, according to industry data released Tuesday.
Of the total, 2,540 registrations were for the refreshed Model Y, a steep drop from 14,600 in the final week of March. Model 3 registrations fell to 1,040 from 6,000.
The plunge reflects Tesla’s typical quarterly strategy of front-loading exports from its Shanghai factory early in the period, temporarily curbing local deliveries. A three-day public holiday for the Ching Ming Festival from April 4 to 6 also weighed on auto industry activity.
Despite the weekly slowdown, the figure was up 91.5% from a year earlier. However, registrations were down 34.5% from the first week of the previous quarter and 44.6% below the same period in Q3 2023 — Tesla’s best quarter in China to date.
The company launched a refreshed five-seat Model Y in China on January 10, with deliveries beginning Feb. 26. Initial “Launch Series” variants were offered through February with additional perks. The standard version went on sale March 1 at the same price.
Tesla raised the price of the Model Y Long Range by 10,000 yuan ($1,370) to 313,500 yuan on March 18, while the base rear-wheel-drive version remained at 263,500 yuan. That same day, Tesla began offering three-year, zero-interest financing on the rear-wheel-drive Model Y and extended the offer to the Long Range variant on March 31.
Tesla introduced last Friday the regular version of its updated Model Y in the United States and Canada, marking the first time the new generation is available outside the limited Launch Series. Deliveries start later this month, according to the company’s website.
Tesla’s performance in Europe’s largest auto markets remained under pressure in March. In Germany, deliveries dropped 42.5% from a year earlier to 2,229 units. France saw a 36.9% decline to 3,157 vehicles, while sales in the Netherlands fell 50% to 1,536.
Tesla delivered 336,700 vehicles globally in the first quarter, a 12.9% decline year over year and the lowest reported deliveries in a quarter in three years.
As of the time of writing, Tesla shares are trading 1% higher at $235.50. Year to date, the stock has lost 42% of its value.