Tesla China exports slump to just 60 cars on strong local demand

Tesla Inc. exported just 60 cars produced at its Shanghai factory in March, a record low as strong domestic demand sucked up most of the output, according to China Passenger Car Association data released Monday.

The U.S.-based maker of EVs shipped a total of 65,814 cars from its factory in China’s financial hub last month, with the bulk of those—65,754—going to the domestic market. 

The total number of EVs produced and delivered locally by Tesla in China in March was the highest since December, despite a six-day plant shutdown caused by production snarls and pandemic-related disruptions. April figures will be closely watched considering the Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai has seen Tesla suspend production there since March 28.

Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its March output.

Overall passenger vehicle sales in China slid 10.9% year-on-year in March to 1.61 million units, the PCA data show. Month-on-month, sales rose 25.3%. New-energy vehicle deliveries in China jumped 137.6% year-on-year to 445,000 units. 

“Despite the global lithium price hike and chip shortage, China’s local OEMs achieved a great performance with their strong capability and government coordination,” Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the trade body, said. He said China’s share of the global autos market reached a record 36% in the first two months of the year.

Also benefiting from robust local demand was China’s BYD Co., which delivered 104,338 new-energy vehicles. NEVs include EVs and plug-in hybrids.

China’s legacy carmakers are under growing pressure to crank out ever-larger volumes of electric vehicles as missing their NEV production targets could dent their profitability, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote earlier this month.