Tesla sold 64,285 China-made vehicles in July, down 31.38 percent from June and the lowest for a single month this year.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) sold 64,285 China-made vehicles in July, including those exported as well as those delivered in China, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
That's down 31.38 percent from 93,680 units in June and the lowest so far this year, although it's up 127.82 percent from 28,217 in the same month a year ago.
In China, Tesla has a factory in Shanghai that produces the Model 3 and Model Y. It's the largest Tesla factory in the world, with an annual production capacity of about 1.1 million vehicles per year.
Vehicles produced at this Shanghai plant are not only delivered in China, but are also exported to overseas markets, and their breakdown figures are currently unknown.
Tesla's pattern is to produce cars for export in the first half of the quarter and for the local market in the second half, the company has previously said.
Tesla's drop in China-made vehicle sales in July may have something to do with the production of the revamped Model 3.
On July 7, local media outlet Jiemian reported that production line commissioning of the revamped Model 3 was almost complete, with prototypes then being tested on the plant's roads over the weekend.
On March 1, Reuters reported that Tesla was working to retool its Shanghai assembly plant for an improved version of the Model 3, codenamed Highland by Tesla.
The Highland version of the Model 3 is expected to go into production in Shanghai in September, the Reuters report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
In the January-July period, Tesla sold 540,824 China-made vehicles, up 67.45 percent year-on-year, data monitored by CnEVPost showed.
In July, China's wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles were estimated at 750,000 units, up 34 percent year-on-year but down 1 percent from June, the CPCA said.
BYD's wholesale sales of 261,105 units in July were the highest of any automaker in terms of new energy vehicle (NEV) sales, according to one of the CPCA's rankings, in which Tesla came in second.
GAC Aion was third in that ranking with 45,025 units, Li Auto was sixth with 34,134 units, Nio was 10th with 20,462 units and Xpeng was 13th with 11,008 units.
China's new energy passenger vehicle sales for the year are expected to be 8.5 million units, and all passenger vehicle sales are expected to be 23.5 million units, the CPCA said, repeating its previous forecast.
For the full year, China's NEV penetration rate is expected to reach 36 percent, and the current state of the automotive market is largely in line with the forecast, the CPCA said.
