Tesla Giga Shanghai continues to ramp up vehicle production, delivering more units to markets around the world. In January, the factory sold 71,447 vehicles, 8.17 percent more than a year earlier.
Sales of cars from Chinese manufacturers decreased compared to December last year due to seasonal factors. Tesla was no exception and recorded a 24.1 percent decline from December when 94,139 units were registered. Some other manufacturers saw sales decline by more than 30 percent. However, sales continue to increase compared to the same period last year, which is positive news. Comparing data for the same month of each year is more accurate in understanding the actual situation.
Tesla’s sales, including exports from China to overseas markets and domestic sales, rose 8.17 percent year over year, compared with the 66,051 units sold in the same month last year. The Texas manufacturer sold 71,447 Chinese-made vehicles in January, according to data released Friday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
It is worth noting that most of the cars that Tesla produces in the first month and a half of each quarter at Giga Shanghai are exported to overseas markets. However, shipping times from China have now increased. Vessels heading to Europe are now forced to take a longer route to avoid the Suez Canal due to attacks by the Houthis. This could also affect Tesla’s final car sales figures from Giga Shanghai in January.
The company’s factory in China has an annual production capacity of more than 950,000 vehicles, making it the largest automobile manufacturing plant in the world. Giga Shanghai produces the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover and is Tesla’s export hub.
The beginning of the year is usually a slow season for car sales in China, notes CnEVPost. The CPCA expects national wholesale sales of passenger new energy vehicles (NEVs) to be 700,000 in January, up 80 percent from a year earlier but down 37 percent from December.
