According to CnEVPost, Tesla delivered a record 40,500 all-electric Model Y crossovers in China during December 2021 and a total of 169,853 units for the entire year, making it the country’s number one best-selling new energy SUV for both the month and the year as a whole.
The BYD Song trailed behind the Tesla Model Y for total sales in 2021 with 104,244 units, and the Li ONE was the third best-selling SUV in China at 90,491 units.
The Model Y also claimed the top spot in premium SUV sales in the Chinese market for 2021, gas-powered vehicles included. In overall SUV sales for December 2021, the Model Y ranked second, outsold marginally by the Haval H6 at 41,456 units.
Tesla started delivering the Performance trim of the Model Y in China in November, and also added more range to the entry-level trim. As of November, the base trim Model Y was sold out in China into early 2022.
As for Tesla’s Model 3, the electric vehicle (EV) maker delivered 150,890 units in China during 2021, up 9.8% as compared to 2020.
The Model 3 was the third best-selling new energy sedan in China for the full year 2021, behind only the Hongguang Mini EV at a whopping 395,451 units and the BYD Qin at 187,227 units.
The numbers come from data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
In December alone, Tesla’s Chinese operation delivered a record 70,847 units — 40,500 Model Ys, 30,102 Model 3s, and only 245 cars for export. Globally, the EV pioneer came close to delivering a million cars in the year, settling in at a little over 936,000 units.
