Tesla China exports slump to just 60 cars on strong local demand

[SHANGHAI] Tesla exported just 60 cars produced at its Shanghai factory in March, a record low as strong domestic demand sucked up most of the output, according to China Passenger Car Association data released Monday (Apr 11).

The US-based maker of electric vehicles (EVs) shipped a total of 65,814 cars from its factory in China's financial hub last month, with the bulk of those - 65,754 - going to the domestic market.

The total number of EVs produced and delivered locally by Tesla in China in March was the highest since December, despite a 6-day plant shutdown caused by production snarls and pandemic-related disruptions. April figures will be closely watched considering the Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai has seen Tesla suspend production there since Mar 28.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on its March output.

Overall passenger vehicle sales in China slid 10.9 per cent year-on-year in March to 1.61 million units, the PCA data show. Month-on-month, sales rose 25.3 per cent. New-energy vehicle deliveries in China jumped 137.6 per cent year-on-year to 445,000 units.

"Despite the global lithium price hike and chip shortage, China's local OEMs achieved a great performance with their strong capability and government coordination," Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the trade body, said. He said China's share of the global autos market reached a record 36 per cent in the first 2 months of the year.

Also benefiting from robust local demand was China's BYD, which delivered 104,338 new-energy vehicles. NEVs include EVs and plug-in hybrids.

China's legacy carmakers are under growing pressure to crank out ever-larger volumes of electric vehicles as missing their NEV production targets could dent their profitability, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote earlier this month. BLOOMBERG