After a relatively slow April in the Chinese auto market for Tesla, the company has followed up with an impressive May, effectively tripling its sales year-over-year (YoY) within the country.
According to data collected by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla sold 33,463 electric vehicles (EVs) in China throughout May, as reported by The Street, which includes 11,527 China-made exports.
The figure triples Tesla’s sales in China last May, just 11,095 units total – which was also impacted by the early COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.
Following the news, Tesla’s shares (TSLA) were up 1.9% in Tuesday’s early trading window, with shares trading at $616.70 at one point in the morning.
Tesla’s March Sales in China Surge a Whopping 94% vs. February [CHART] https://t.co/awlTMd0g7u
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) April 9, 2021
Tesla’s first deliveries from the Shanghai Gigafactory also occurred in January last year, but the factory’s production speeds have come a long way since – with the company even having added an extra production shift last October.
After controversy regarding privacy concerns over footage from the company’s in-cabin cameras in the past few months, Tesla completed building a local data storage site in China in May. The company’s cars were earlier banned for use in some government offices and for some military personnel.
China remains both the world’s largest auto market and an essential market for Tesla, and increasing competition from local companies like NIO and Xpeng will also continue to put pressure on the company’s hold in the country.
