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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

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
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.

Tesla’s Chinese rivals Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto have been delivering about 10,000 cars each per month. While their cars are believed to be superior to Model 3 and Model Y in terms of performance and sophistication, sales are yet to match the global leader.

The trio has launched new models, both sedans and sport-utility vehicles, fitted with high-performance batteries, object-detection technology, assisted parking and semi-autonomous driving systems. The cars, which are priced upwards of 300,000 yuan (US$41,977), have received massive pre-orders from customers.

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Tesla’s Shanghai plant lost about 50,000 units in production between March 28 and April 18, when the city was placed under total lockdown. But its total loss could amount to 70,000 units, because a broken supply chain foiled Tesla’s attempts to fully restore capacity even after it restarted operations on April 19.

However, the upgraded assembly has given the US carmaker a much-needed boost, allowing it to slash the waiting period for Chinese buyers. Customers now only have to a week for a Model Y, compared with up to 24 weeks in June, according to Tesla’s website.

Analysts expect Tesla to bring down the prices of its Shanghai-made vehicles soon to vie for a bigger share of the world’s largest EV market.

Buyers of Model 3 and Model Y can now receive a 7,000 yuan subsidy if they get vehicle insurance from insurers partnered with Tesla.

In the first eight months of this year, Tesla delivered 172,418 Model Ys to mainland customers, up 188 per cent from the same period in 2021.

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