China: Tesla Retail Sales Almost Doubled In August 2023

In August, Tesla's sales of Made-in-China (MIC) Model 3/Model Y in China and exports from China went in opposite directions compared to the previous year.

According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)'s data, the overall wholesale vehicle shipments (local retail sales and exports) of MIC Model 3/Model Y amounted to 84,159 units (up 9 percent year-over-year).

* CPCA reports wholesale shipments, not registrations/customer deliveries.

While the overall result is positive, it turns out that the exports were significantly lower, and the growth comes solely from higher local sales.

During the first eight months of the year, the total wholesale sales amounted to 624,983, which is 56 percent more than a year ago at this point.

Retail Sales in China

Last month, the company's local sales in China amounted to 64,694 MIC cars (almost 88 percent more than a year ago).

That's an interesting outcome, suggesting that the manufacturer focused on local sales while preparing the significantly upgraded new Tesla Model 3 (aka Highland).

Tesla MIC retail sales in China are usually the highest in the final month of a quarter (the first half of a quarter is usually focused on exports).

So far this year, Tesla locally sold over 390,000 MIC electric cars in China, which is 62 percent more than a year ago.

In other words, after applying several price cuts and incentives, Tesla is selling better than ever in China, although the margins are most likely affected.

Export

According to the report, last month, 19,465 Tesla MIC cars were exported (54 percent less than a year ago).

We guess that the reason was the switch from the old to the new Model 3, which is exported in high volume to Europe (and other markets, at a lower scale). Once the new Model 3 is ready for export, we might see a significant increase in the following months.

Tesla usually exports the highest number of cars in the first month of a quarter, and a substantial number of cars also in the second month of a quarter.

So far this year, Tesla exported 234,761 MIC cars from China, which is 47 percent more than a year ago.

See also

BYD Plug-In Car Sales Reached Another Record In August 2023

Estimated Tesla Order Backlog Stabilized: 54,000 On August 16, 2023