In January, Tesla increased overall wholesale vehicle shipments in China (local retail sales and exports).
According to the China Passenger Car Association's (CPCA) initial data, the overall wholesale shipments of Tesla Made-in-China (MIC) Model 3/Model Y cars last month amounted to 71,447 units, which is 8% more than a year ago.
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Tesla Giga Shanghai EV factory
The Tesla Giga Shanghai factory is the world's largest all-electric car manufacturing plant, which in 2023 produced close to 950,000 Model 3 and Model Y cars. Tesla EVs from Shanghai are sold mostly in China, while exports represent more than a third of the volume.
The recent result is lower than in November (82,432) and December (94,139) but it was the best January ever.
* CPCA reports wholesale shipments, not registrations/customer deliveries.
It means that the upgraded Model 3 (aka Highland) and the slightly updated Tesla Model Y in China are still attracting a lot of customers in China. In 2023, Model Y was the best-selling all-electric model in China.
In the coming days, we should get the local retail sales/export data to better understand Tesla's situation.
Tesla MIC Model 3/Model Y wholesale shipments last month (YOY change):
- Total wholesale shipments: 71,447 (up 8%)
For reference, in 2023, the total wholesale sales almost reached 950,000 units, up 33% year-over-year.
Tesla MIC Model 3/Model Y wholesale shipments in 2023 (YOY change):
- Total wholesale shipments: 947,742 (up 33%)
Tesla said recently that the Shanghai factory "resumed normal rate production in Q4, rebounding from the scheduled downtime in Q3. Production of the updated Model 3 ramped to full speed in less than two months." The factory can produce close to one million electric cars annually.
As of today, the initial CPCA data does not include numbers for retail sales and exports or individual results for the two models.
However, we can share full data for retail sales in China through December 2023. In 2023, the Model 3 noted over 147,000 sales (up 18% year-over-year), while the Model Y expanded by almost 45% year-over-year to over 456,000.