Around the world, electric vehicles (EVs) are beginning to face a more widespread adoption, and leading the charge is among the world’s newest, most valuable automakers, Tesla.
Tesla China’s sales doubled year-over-year in 2020, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (via Benzinga). In Tesla’s annual report, the company shared that 21.11% ($6.6 billion USD) of its total 2020 revenue ($31.54 billion USD) came from China – which is considered the world’s largest auto market by a long shot.
In the previous year, Tesla saw its total sales revenue at just $24.58 billion (USD), with its China sales making up just 12.12% of the total revenue. 2020 saw the completion of the company’s Gigafactory Shanghai, which not only forced a major shift from imports to domestic sales, but also increased production from the Chinese factory in the last quarter of the year.
Largely producing the Model Y for its local market, Tesla China also received a summon from the Chinese auto regulator on Monday, despite its impressive 2020 sales. The company’s US-based factories also just began recalling 135,000 Model S and Model X units over major touchscreen issues.
In spite of this, Tesla currently remains the world’s most valuable automaker, even outperforming the market capitalization of legacy car manufacturers like Ford, Volkswagen, and GM, among others. While its quality control issues remain an ongoing topic of discussion, it’s still hard to argue with sales numbers like these.
With Tesla planning to design and produce a $25,000 USD EV in China, it appears we are barely skimming the surface of the Chinese market. The hunger for Tesla in China is reminiscent of early iPhone demand in the nation.
