Tesla’s vehicle shipments from China factory jumped in July

Tesla Inc. increased shipments from its Shanghai factory by about 15% in July, snapping a streak of monthly declines in output from its most productive plant globally.

The automaker wholesaled an estimated 74,117 Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport utility vehicles last month, according to preliminary data released Friday by China’s Passenger Car Association. That’s up both from a year ago and from June, when Tesla recorded its third consecutive drop in shipments from its factory.

Tesla’s pace of production in China is still lower than it was through the first seven months of last year, reflecting slowing demand for the company’s electric vehicles. Elon Musk has placed greater emphasis lately on artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicle development, though those efforts may take longer to bear fruit. The chief executive officer confirmed in July that he’d postponed an event to unveil robotaxi prototypes by about two months to October.

Tesla shares fell 2.6% as of 9 a.m. Friday in New York, before the start of regular trading. The stock has dropped 13% this year.

BYD extended its lead in China’s new-energy vehicle market, increasing sales by 31% from a year ago to 340,799 units. While plug-in hybrid deliveries jumped 67% in July to 210,799 cars, the company’s battery-electric vehicle sales fell to their lowest in five months.

Industrywide, China’s sales of new-energy vehicles — which comprises plug-in hybrids and fully electric cars — rose 29% from a year ago, with automakers getting a boost toward the end of the month from Beijing doubling a subsidy paid out to consumers trading in older autos.

Several carmakers reported declines on a month-to-month basis, with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.’s Zeekr delivering 15,655 vehicles in July, down 22% from June.

A Zeekr spokesperson said that equipment checks and production line repairs are usually timed for the summer months. Zeekr’s factory lines also are being adjusted to make several new models, the spokesperson said, adding that the company is still targeting a monthly run rate of 30,000 units for sometime in the fourth quarter.

Zeekr’s parent Geely reported a 9.2% dip in July sales while Great Wall Motor Co. posted a 6.9% drop from June.

China’s Passenger Car Association estimated that new-energy passenger vehicle wholesales slipped about 3% month-on-month, amid slower economic growth and muted consumer spending.

Among China’s other three US-listed EV makers — Nio Inc., Xpeng Inc. and Li Auto Inc. — the latter stood out, posting a 6.8% month-on-month increase largely driven by the popularity of its extended-range EVs. Li Auto’s sales of 51,000 vehicles were up almost 50% from a year ago.