Tesla witnessed a further decline in sales of China-made vehicles last month, possibly due to the impact of the Chinese New Year holiday on output at its Shanghai plant.
According to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the US electric vehicle (EV) maker sold 60,365 China-made vehicles in February. This figure represents a decrease of 18.87 percent from the 74,402 units sold a year ago and a 15.51 percent drop from the 71,447 vehicles sold in January.
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Tesla’s Shanghai factory, its largest globally with an annual production capacity exceeding 950,000 vehicles, manufactures the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover. The factory serves both local consumers and acts as an export hub for Tesla, although a detailed breakdown of local deliveries versus exports is not currently available.
The company’s sales pattern typically involves producing cars for export in the first half of the quarter and for the local market in the second half, as previously stated by Tesla.
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The February sales decline marks the second consecutive month of month-on-month decreases, largely attributed to the impact of the Chinese New Year holiday. Last year’s holiday fell on January 21-27, 2023, while this year’s holiday spanned from February 10-17.
In January, Tesla sold 71,447 China-made vehicles, reflecting an 8.17 percent increase from a year earlier but a 24.10 percent decrease from the 94,139 units sold in December. January sales comprised 39,881 vehicles sold in China and 31,566 exported from the Shanghai factory, according to the CPCA.
