Tesla's (TSLA.US) sales in China in August reached the best this year, up 37% month-on-month
1min read Tesla's new vehicle sales in China, the world's largest auto market, hit a year-high in August, buoyed by strong demand in small cities, the company said. The electric vehicle maker sold more than 63,000 vehicles in China last month, up 37% from July, though it may still be shy of the 64,694 vehicles it sold in August last year. Deliveries of its locally-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles rose 17% from July.
While a heartening improvement, Tesla's performance is far behind that of strong Chinese rivals. The world's largest electric vehicle maker, BYD, said its domestic passenger vehicle sales in August surged 35% from a year earlier to a record 370,854 vehicles. Other domestic EV rivals, including Zhejiang Zotye Auto and Li Auto, also reported higher sales.
Like many other carmakers, Tesla has had to contend with a prolonged price war in China. Its sales in the country fell 5% in the first half of the year. However, some factors have driven recent sales momentum, despite the company cutting local sales staff as part of its global job cuts.
Notably, Tesla has offered buyers interest-free loans for up to five years since April, and its vehicles have recently been included on some local governments' lists of vehicles for official use.
Tesla plans to start producing a six-seat version of the Y in China by the end of 2025, two people familiar with the matter said, though the company's China media office responded that the report was "untrue".