In September, the overall wholesale vehicle shipments (local retail sales and exports) of Tesla Made-in-China (MIC) cars decreased for the first time this year.
According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)'s initial data, the overall volume of Tesla MIC Model 3/Model Y cars last month amounted to 74,073 units, which is nearly 11 percent less than a year ago.
* CPCA reports wholesale shipments, not registrations/customer deliveries.
The latest result is also lower than in August, but over 74,000 units is still a pretty solid number.
The main question is whether the slightly updated Tesla Model Y in China and the significantly upgraded Model 3 (code name Highland) will enable the company to return to growth. Customer deliveries of the new Model 3 are set to begin in Q4.
Tesla MIC BEV wholesale vehicle shipments last month (YOY change):
- Model 3/Model Y: 74,073 (down 11%)
So far this year, the total wholesale sales amounted to almost 700,000, which is 45 percent more than a year ago. However, the growth was mostly fueled by price reductions. We must also take into account that the growth was slightly inflated by the fact that, in 2022, the manufacturer had some lockdowns (April and May).
Tesla MIC BEV wholesale vehicle shipments year-to-date (YOY change):
- Model 3/Model Y: 699,056 (up 45%)
Retail Sales in China
As of today, the initial CPCA data does not include numbers for retail sales and exports or individual results for the two models.
In the past, the Tesla Model Y volume represented about two-thirds of the total wholesale volume (outpacing the Model 3 at a ratio of over 2:1).
Also, the final month of a quarter was usually focused on retail sales in China, compared to the final month of a quarter, which was focused on exports.
Below, we attached the retail sales and export charts through August 2023.
Export
