Tesla’s China sales hit record in September following Shanghai plant upgrade

Deliveries of Model 3 and Model Y hit 83,135 units in September, surpassing the previous record of 78,906 units in June

The Gigafactory upgrade has reduced the waiting time for Model Y in China to just one week from as long as 24 weeks in June

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Employees work at the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai, where the capacity has been expanded to 1 million units a year. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:30pm, 10 Oct 2022

Tesla continued to dominate China’s premium electric vehicle (EV) segment, with deliveries in September hitting an all-time high on the back of expanded production capacity at its Shanghai Gigafactory.

The US carmaker delivered 83,135 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to customers in China and overseas, surpassing the previous record of 78,906 units set in June, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Deliveries rose 8 per cent month on month in September and 48.4 per cent from a year ago.

“Tesla’s branding awareness gives it an overwhelming advantage over its Chinese rivals,” said David Zhang, a visiting professor at the engineering department of Huanghe Science and Technology University. “New models developed by China’s smart EV companies have not become a real threat to Tesla yet.”

A truck transports new Tesla cars from its factory in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters

Tesla’s delivery volume comprised sales to mainland customers and exports to markets like Germany and Japan. The CPCA figures did not strip out deliveries to Chinese buyers last month.

The company, the only foreign carmaker that fully owns a vehicle assembly on the mainland, upgraded its facilities at the Lingang free-trade zone in August to boost capacity by about 30 per cent. The carmaker now can build about 1 million Model 3 and Model Y vehicles a year.