- A total of 63,238 Teslas were sold in China or produced there for export.
- Sales were impacted by the Chinese New Year holiday, which fell earlier this year.
- BYD sold 300,538 BEV and PHEV models locally, marking a 49.16% increase.
Tesla isn’t just contending with slowing sales across Europe, it’s now seeing a decline in China as well. New sales data reveals that the American EV maker’s deliveries in China fell by 11.5% last month, while key domestic rivals like BYD, Changan Automobile, and Xpeng saw their numbers climb.
In January, Tesla sold 63,238 vehicles in China and other markets that receive Chinese-built Teslas, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). While that’s still a solid figure, it’s a noticeable drop from the 71,447 vehicles delivered in January and a sharp decline from the 93,766 in December.
Read: Tesla Sales Crash Up To 63% In European Markets, Is Musk Or New Model Y To Blame?
While Tesla won’t be thrilled with the dip in sales, there are some external factors at play. This year’s Chinese New Year holiday ran from January 28 to February 4, a period when car sales traditionally slow. Last year, the Chinese New Year holiday was from February 10-17 and, as such, did not impact January’s sales figures.
Additionally, CNEVPost reports that Tesla’s Shanghai plant halted Model Y production in January to prepare for the launch of the heavily updated version. The production lines won’t be back online until February 14. Part of the facility used for the Model 3 was also temporarily closed from January 26 to February 3.
Tesla wasn’t the only automaker affected by seasonal trends. BYD, China’s surging EV giant, also saw a drop in sales compared to its record-breaking December. However, it still managed a slight increase from January. In total, BYD sold 300,538 battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles locally last month, up 49.16% from February 2023 but down 41.62% from its massive December tally of 514,809 units.
Despite the slump, Tesla’s Chinese sales could rebound soon. The company is understood to have secured as many as 70,000 orders for the new Model Y in the first five days after its local unveiling. It’s unclear when local customer deliveries will begin.
