Tesla Reports Strong August Sales Numbers in China

© Reuters. Tesla (TSLA) Reports Strong August Sales Numbers in China

By Michael Elkins

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported their Chinese sales numbers for August selling 76,965 Chinese-made vehicles. According to Reuters, the company nearly tripled its sales from a month ago when scheduled upgrades disrupted most production.

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said the electric carmaker exported 42,463 Model 3s and Model Ys from China last month. In July, it sold 28,217 vehicles and exported 19,756.

Tesla ramped up output at the Shanghai plant in August, resisting heatwaves and COVID curbs that hit its suppliers in the southwest region. Suppliers like Battery maker CATL (SZ:300750), whose Yibin plant had to shut part of its operations due to local power restriction policies in mid-August.

The ramp-up led to accelerated deliveries, allowing Tesla to cut waiting times for its Model 3 and Model Y, its two best-selling models, to a maximum of 14 weeks in China, while buyers of the rear-wheel drive Model Y can pick up the SUV in a month after placing the order, according to Tesla's Chinese website.

The country saw a difficult start to the year, with COVID lockdowns and then heat waves. But auto sales in China have rebounded thanks to government incentives and tax breaks. China's overall passenger car sales in August jumped 28.4% from a year earlier to 1.9 million, the CPCA said.

Exports of passenger vehicles jumped 77.5%, the CPCA said. Sales of electric cars accounted for 28% of the total in August and rose by 111.2%, it added.

BYD led the electric vehicle producers with 173,977 cars delivered in August, while Nio (NYSE:NIO), Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV) and Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) delivered 10,677, 9,578 and 4,571 vehicles, respectively.

TSLA is up 0.31% in pre-market trading at the time of this post.