Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) saw a significant recovery in its domestic retail performance in China in May, ending a two-month streak of year-on-year sales declines, accompanied by strong export figures from its Shanghai factory.
The US electric vehicle (EV) maker’s domestic retail sales in China reached 47,281 units in May, up 22.53% from a year earlier, according to data released Monday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Compared to a relatively weak domestic performance in April, Tesla’s retail sales in May surged 82.16% month-on-month.
During the January-May period, Tesla’s cumulative domestic retail sales in China stood at 186,035 units. Despite the strong May showing, this year-to-date figure remains down 7.87% from the same period last year.
Tesla’s sales recovery aligns with the broader expansion trend in China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market. China’s NEV retail sales reached 950,000 units in May, reflecting an 18.6% year-on-year growth.
In the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market, China’s retail sales were 637,000 units in May. This represents a 22.0% year-on-year increase and a 19.2% month-on-month rise.
Boosted by the rebound in domestic deliveries, Tesla’s share of China’s NEV market by retail sales climbed to 4.98% in May. This is higher than the 3.78% recorded in the same period last year, and significantly above April’s 3.06%.
In China’s BEV market, Tesla’s market share reached 7.42% in May. This performance also surpassed the 6.36% from a year ago and marked a strong rebound from the 4.48% trough in April.
While meeting domestic demand, overseas shipments from Tesla’s Shanghai factory remained at a high level.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory exported 38,701 vehicles in May, achieving a 67.73% year-on-year growth.
However, as the company tilted more production capacity toward the domestic market in May, the figure fell 27.69% compared to April.
In the first five months of the year, total exports from the Shanghai factory reached 192,823 units, up 112.01% year-on-year, underscoring the facility’s status as a global export hub.
Combining domestic retail and overseas exports, Tesla China’s wholesale volume reached 85,982 vehicles in May. This represents a 39.44% increase from a year earlier and an 8.18% month-on-month rebound from April.
Wholesale volume for the Model Y reached 54,765 units in May. This reflects a 38.55% year-on-year growth and a 5.03% month-on-month increase.
The Model 3 sedan saw a wholesale volume of 31,217 units in May, achieving a 41.03% year-on-year growth and a 14.20% increase from the previous month.
Currently, specific domestic retail breakdown data for these two models in May is not yet available.
Tesla’s strong performance in May was partly driven by the company’s new vehicle financing policies introduced to boost local market demand.
The company launched a new service called “Easy Loan” in May, aiming to attract budget-conscious Chinese consumers by lowering the threshold for purchasing a car.
In addition to flexible pricing and loan strategies, Tesla is preparing for a major technology roll-out in the Chinese market, which could further stimulate future sales.
The company recently changed the name of its FSD (Full Self-Driving) software to “Tesla Assisted Driving” on its official Chinese website. The price of the software suite remains at 64,000 yuan.
The naming adjustment follows the company’s earlier announcement that the FSD supervised is now available in markets including China. This has sparked widespread market expectations that its full self-driving technology will soon be deployed in the country.
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