In July, sales of Chinese-made vehicles plunged 64% from a month earlier in the day, as the company's ambitious upgrade of its Shanghai factory disrupted production.
The world's largest car market aggressively promotes switching to electric as new energy vehicles sales in China more than doubled, as the world's largest car market aggressively promotes switching to electric vehicles.
According to the data released by the China Passenger Car Association on Tuesday, there were 28,217 electric vehicles delivered from its Shanghai factory last month, down from June's 77,938 units. The sales figure was down 54% from the same period last year.
The US carmaker had just begun recovering from a months-long lock-in in Shanghai earlier this year that had hit its production and suppliers. In June, Tesla posted record sales of vehicles made in China.
The CPCA didn't elaborate on the reasons behind Tesla's July sales plunge, but the US carmaker said in its quarterly earnings call last month that its Shanghai factory had recently undergone some equipment upgrades that were aimed at increasing the production rate.
The Shanghai plant is now the world's largest factory by installed capacity, able to produce more than 750,000 vehicles per year, according to Tesla's quarterly update last month. The plant would be able to churn out more than a million EVs a year after the upgrade is completed, according to media reports.
Tesla said that with each of the factories in Fremont and Shanghai achieving their highest production months and new factory growth, we are focused on a record-breaking second half of 2022.
While Tesla sales slumped in July, Chinese EV and battery maker BYD reclaimed the top spot, selling 80,991 pure electric vehicles, up 16% from June.
The CPCA said in July that the country's retail sales of new energy vehicles increased 117% from the same period a year ago, thanks to government incentives, a recovery in supply chains and rising EV demand because of higher oil prices.
In the last few years, China has aggressively pushed the development of EVs, giving cash subsidies to automakers to encourage production.
The CPCA said on Tuesday that China's new energy car sales could reach 6 million units, up from its previous estimate of 5.5 million vehicles. The new number would represent a 70% increase from last year.