Tesla achieved an incredible new overall sales/export record of Made-in-China (MIC) Model 3/Model Y in December 2021 by exceeding 70,000.
The total volume (sales and export) - according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)'s data (see report in Chinese here) amounted to 70,847 units, which is 198% more than a year ago.
* CPCA reports wholesale shipments, not registrations/customer deliveries.
It's a huge improvement over the previous record of 56,006 units in September and only BYD managed to sell more plug-in electric cars in December - over 93,000 (more on that in a separate report).
An important thing is that in 2021, Tesla's MIC wholesale shipments amounted to 473,078, which is 243% more than in 2020 (when only the Tesla Model 3 was offered). That's more than half (50.5%) of Tesla's total global result in 2021 (936,172).
Cumulatively, more than 610,000 MIC Tesla cars were produced and sent out of the gate of the Tesla Giga Shanghai plant, which currently appears to be capable of producing roughly 850,000 cars per year (12 times 70,847).
Last month, almost the entire production of the plant was envisioned for local sales in China, which resulted in a new monthly record of 70,602 (up 197% year-over-year).
It was Tesla's best quarter ever in China - 116,059 units, while the total volume in 2021 exceeded 320,000 (compared to nearly 140,000 in 2020).
Only 245 of the MIC Tesla cars were exported last month, according to the data. In 2021, exports exceeded 150,000 (mostly Model 3).
Tesla usually exports the highest number of cars in the first month of a quarter, and then a substantial number of cars also in the second month of a quarter.
Nonetheless, other manufacturers also don't export many plug-in cars, aside from SAIC - 5,716 units. Geely exported 637, BYD 563, and Great Wall 203.
Models
Tesla offers two MIC models - Model 3 and Model Y. Data for individual models are not yet available, but we will update the article once the data is released (usually within several days).
UPDATE: Tesla Model 3 sales in China amounted to 30,102 (a new record), which is 26% more than a year ago. More than 150,000 Model 3 were sold in 2021 in China (almost 10% more than a year ago).
The Tesla Model Y noted a new monthly record of 40,500 sales in December. The total volume amounted to just under 170,000 - noticeably above the Model 3.
The month of January is expected to be focused, once again, on exports.