Sales of Tesla cars in China are falling as competition gets more challenging. According to data released by the China Passenger Car Association on Thursday, Tesla Inc. delivered 55,796 electric vehicles made in China in December, which was the lowest level in the previous five months.
That was a 44% decrease from the previous month of November and a 21% decrease from the last year, as the automaker in the United States cut production and prices to deal with rising inventories in the face of weakening demand.
It is also the fewest monthly deliveries since July when the majority of production at Tesla’s Shanghai plant was suspended due to an upgrade to its production lines. This month’s total is the lowest it has been since then.
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According to the data provided by the CPCA, the American automaker delivered fifty percent more vehicles manufactured in its Shanghai plant throughout the entirety of 2022 in comparison to 2021.
The electric vehicle manufacturer saw a global increase in deliveries of 40% in 2017, falling short of CEO Elon Musk’s annual target of 50% growth.
According to a report published by Reuters, Tesla stopped production at its Shanghai plant, its most productive manufacturing hub, from December 24 through January 2 as part of efforts to reduce output.
The data from the CPCA showed that Chinese competitor BYD still led all brands in electric vehicle sales in China during December. BYD sold 234,598 electric cars in China during that month, including plug-in hybrids and pure EVs. This number was four times higher than Tesla’s sales during the same month.
According to the association, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., a joint venture of General Motors in China that makes small-budget electric vehicles, also outsold Tesla by 53%.
