Tesla posted a sharp rebound in China sales in March as demand in the world’s largest auto market recovered from February’s slowdown, while exports from its Shanghai factory also rose strongly.
Tesla sold 56,107 China-made vehicles in the domestic market in March, up 46.9% from February, though down 24.3% from a year earlier, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association on Thursday.
Exports from Tesla’s Giga Shanghai plant rose to 29,563 vehicles in March, up 528.9% from a year earlier and 45.0% higher than in February.
Combined domestic sales and exports brought Tesla China’s wholesale deliveries for March to 85,670 vehicles, up 46.2% from 58,599 in February.
The rebound was driven largely by the popularity of the Model Y sport utility vehicle, which recorded wholesale sales of 55,856 units in March, up 13.9% from a year earlier.
Wholesale deliveries of the Model 3 sedan totaled 29,814 units, according to calculations by Chinese EV media outlet CnEVPost, ending a 13-month streak of year-on-year declines. That figure was broadly in line with 29,799 units a year earlier and up 73.4% from February.
Tesla’s March recovery came as China’s broader electric vehicle market also improved. Retail sales of battery electric vehicles in China rose 104.6% from February to 568,000 units in March, though they were down 11.7% from a year earlier, CPCA data showed.
Including plug-in hybrids, China’s new energy vehicle retail sales reached 848,000 units in March, up 82.6% month-on-month but down 14.4% year-on-year.
Tesla accounted for 9.88% of China’s battery electric vehicle market and 6.62% of the broader new energy vehicle market in March, according to Reuters calculations based on CPCA data.
The March performance helped lift Tesla China’s first-quarter wholesale deliveries to 213,398 vehicles, representing nearly 60% of the company’s global deliveries of 358,023 vehicles in the quarter.
Despite broader market challenges, Tesla regained the global battery electric vehicle sales lead in the first quarter, overtaking Chinese rival BYD, whose passenger BEV sales totaled 310,389 units during the period.