Tesla China-Made EV Sales Decreased Again In May 2024
In May, Tesla Giga Shanghai’s wholesale vehicle shipments, including local retail sales and exports, decreased year-over-year.
According to the China Passenger Car Association’s (CPCA) initial data, the wholesale shipments of Tesla’s Made-in-China (MIC) Model 3/Model Y cars last month amounted to 72,573, almost 7% less than a year ago.
Tesla Giga Shanghai EV factory
The Tesla Giga Shanghai factory is the world’s largest all-electric car manufacturing plant. In 2023, it produced close to 950,000 Model 3 and Model Y cars. Tesla EVs from Shanghai are sold mostly in China, while exports represent more than a third of the volume.
The recent results do not bring growth like in the first few years of the factory operation, suggesting that the easy expansion path has been exhausted.
* CPCA reports wholesale shipments, which are closely related to production. However, this figure does not necessarily represent registrations/customer deliveries.
The market conditions are challenging, competition fierce and even maintaining the sales volume requires cutting prices, which happened a few times across 2023.
Tesla MIC Model 3/Model Y wholesale shipments last month (YOY change):
- Total wholesale shipments: 72,573 (down 7%)
So far this year, the total wholesale sales exceeded 355,000 units, 7% less than a year ago.
Tesla MIC Model 3/Model Y wholesale shipments year-to-date (YOY change):
- Total wholesale shipments: 355,616 (down 7%)
For reference, in 2023, the total wholesale sales almost reached 950,000 units, up 33% year-over-year.
As of today, the initial CPCA data does not include May retail sales and export numbers or individual results for the two models.
The numbers through April 2024 indicate that the situation is similar in both categories. Retail sales in China in the first four months of the year were 7.5% lower than a year ago, while exports were 6.7% lower.
Below, we share the total wholesale sales of the Model 3 and the Model Y through April 2024. As we can see, the Model 3’s total volume slightly increased after the refreshed “Highland” version was launched in 2023. On the other hand, the Model Y is down over 17% year-over-year after the first four months of the year.
