Tesla new car registrations rise again in China despite slowdown
- California-based Tesla delivered 92,550 vehicles globally in the fourth quarter, bringing its 2019 total to 367,500
Tesla’s new car registrations climbed again in China last month to the highest since March, despite a slowdown in the wider car market.
Registrations of Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) rose to 6,643 in December, according to state-backed China Automotive Information Net, which gathers industry data based on insurance purchases. Thirty of those were for the first of its locally made cars.
Tesla started handing over cars to employees at its Shanghai plant – the company’s first outside the United States – at the very end of the month.
The December figure took total Tesla registrations in the world’s biggest EV market to 42,715 for the year, compared with 16,360 in 2018.
The increase came during a slowdown in China’s overall car sales, which dropped for a second straight year, according to the China Passenger Car Association. EV sales were hurt last year as the government trimmed subsidies on purchases.