Tesla has once again reached the top in China with its Model Y. The compact SUV became the country’s best-selling new energy vehicle (NEV) in the first six months of the year.
According to official China sales data published by @Tslachan/X, Tesla sold 207,817 Model Ys, allowing the compact electric SUV to take the lead in China. In second place, with a huge gap of almost 40,000 units, was BYD with 167,861 Seagulls. In third place was Nissan Sylphy with 161,379 units sold. BYD was in fourth place with 152,042 Qin Plus DM. Volkswagen Lavida closed out the top five with 137,452 units sold.
In 2024, Tesla Model Y sales increased slightly compared to the same period last year. In the first half of 2023, the company sold 203,900 compact SUVs. This means that Tesla recorded an increase in Model Y sales of almost 2%. While this is a minor increase, it is still better than the competition. Under the influence of the hard economic situation, consumer interest in buying cars has decreased.
However, demand for Tesla vehicles continues to increase in the world’s largest auto market.
Tesla’s success is especially impressive because it competes with much cheaper car models. Sales data showed that consumers prefer the more expensive Model Y, despite having cheaper options available to them.
This underscores the appeal of the SUV, which is manufactured at Giga Shanghai for the local market.
It should also be noted that Model Y is Tesla’s vehicle of choice for Chinese government agencies as the company has been officially recognized as operating in accordance with data security requirements. Earlier this month it became known that Model Y was included on the list for government procurement in China. Later, the information was supplemented with new facts.
According to a statement from the Lingang Investment Promotion Service Center, Model Y had already been purchased by a few government agencies, including Chengtou Xinggang Group and Lingang Investment Holding Group.
