Tesla’s China deliveries hit record in December even after prices of Model 3 and Model Y cars are raised
- Tesla delivered a record 70,602 vehicles in December in China, beating its previous record of 52,153 set in September
- The carmaker delivered 321,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to customers in China last year, 117 per cent higher than 2020
According to the China Passenger Car Association, the Austin, Texas-based company delivered 70,847 vehicles, including exports of 245 units in December, a year-on-year jump of 197.6 per cent.
Tesla’s December deliveries easily surpassed the previous record of 52,153 units in September when it sold a total 56,006 vehicles, including exports, made at its Shanghai plant. Tesla makes the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV at the Gigafactory 3.
“Tesla doesn’t want to take too many orders and so it raised prices to curb demand,” said Phate Zhang, founder of Shanghai-based tech portal CnEVpost. “The Shanghai factory, facing rising number of orders and shortage of chips, may not be able to produce enough vehicles to satisfy the market demand.”
Tesla China said in a statement that its Gigafactory 3, which began operations at the end of 2019, delivered 484,130 vehicles in 2021, representing 51.7 per cent of its global total of 936,000 units.
In China, 321,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles were delivered to customers last year, 117 per cent higher than 2020.