- Sales of China-built Teslas fell 18 percent in April compared to April 2023, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
- Tesla’s Shanghai factory builds electric vehicles for both export and sales within China.
- Chinese rivals reported higher sales as the electric vehicle market recovered after several weak months.
Volkswagen is not the only brand struggling with rapidly growing domestic competition in China. That includes Tesla, whose sales of Chinese-built electric vehicles fell 18 percent in April, according to new data.
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Tesla sold 62,167 cars built at its Shanghai factory last month, more than a sixth fewer than in April 2023, preliminary figures from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) show. The data also shows that sales fell 30 percent compared to March 2024.
Related: Tesla carnage continues as more employees are laid off
The story extends beyond China’s borders, as some of the Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles built in Giga Shanghai will be exported to other markets, including Asia and Europe, and will be affected by the global decline in demand for electric cars.
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Tesla’s concerns are compounded by the knowledge that the overall electric vehicle market in China has been growing. China’s Morning star reports that electric vehicle sales in China rose by a third to around 800,000 units last April as the sector recovered after a weak start to the year. A 25 percent drop in electric vehicle sales in February can be partly explained by Chinese New Year being in February instead of January this year. Reuters Remarks.
After overtaking Tesla as the world’s largest electric vehicle maker late last year, BYD consolidated its position by converting 312,048 electric cars in April, 49 percent more than in April 2023 and 3.5 percent more than in March this year.
Tesla announced last month it would cut its global workforce by 10 percent to cut costs and has cut electric vehicle prices to boost demand and keep pace with aggressively competitive Chinese brands. The entire Supercharger team was reportedly laid off in late April, several senior executives have left the company, and 2,700 jobs are being cut at the company’s headquarters in Austin, Texas.
The company was also rumored to have put its plans to launch a next-generation gigacasting process on hold, but received good news when it secured the right to offer its “Full Self-Driving” autonomous technology in China.
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