U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) sold around 78,000 China-made vehicles; preliminary estimates published by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). This was up 142% from May, when Tesla sold 32,165 China-made vehicles, and up 135% from a year ago.
Tesla’s factory in Shanghai, China’s economic hub affected in the second quarter by a lockdown that forced the site to halt production for 22 days. The plant, which manufactures Model 3s and Model Ys, and resumed exports; but had struggled to get production back to pre-lockdown levels.
The difficulties in China were viewed as a key factor that led Tesla to report an 18% drop in second-quarter deliveries from the previous quarte;ending a nearly two-year run of record quarterly deliveries.
However, it cited an internal production memo as saying that Tesla was aiming to make over 71,000 vehicles at its Shanghai plant in June. Beyond Tesla, the CPCA estimated that 1.926 million passenger cars were sold across China in June; up 22% year-on-year, helped by recent efforts to stimulate the market by local authorities.
Electric vehicles, in particular, were selling strongly and the association said overall June sales could hit 546,000; up 130% year-on-year, led by BYD Co (002594.SZ) which CPCA estimated sold 134,000 vehicles during the month.
-Reuters.
