Tesla China appears to be navigating choppy waters as July sales figures reveal a noticeable dip. They sold 67,886 EVs, marking an 8.4% decrease year-over-year and a 5.2% drop from June. This continues a trend of nine year-over-year declines in the last ten months, with only a slight 0.8% increase in June offering a brief respite.
Sales numbers from Tesla China include both domestic deliveries and exports. For the first seven months of the year, cumulative sales reached 432,360 units, a 13.7% decrease compared to the same period last year. The last time Tesla China saw double-digit year-over-year growth was way back in September 2024. This ongoing struggle points to intense competition within the Chinese market, where Tesla’s popular Model Y faces increasing pressure from a growing field of local rivals, alongside reduced overseas exports.
Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, its only car plant in China, focuses on producing just two models: the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y SUV. To counter the fierce competition, Tesla has an intriguing plan up its sleeve. The company plans to launch a six-seater Model Y L in China this autumn. This larger variant aims to capture a slice of the thriving MPV and three-row SUV segments, currently dominated by local favorites like the Li Auto i8, Onvo L90, and Aito M8.
Expect a significant stretch for the new Model Y L. China’s regulator revealed in July that this six-seater will boast a 150 mm longer wheelbase and be 179 mm longer overall than the standard five-seater version. Its exact dimensions will be 4,976 mm in length, 1,920 mm in width, and 1,668 mm in height, with a substantial 3,040 mm wheelbase. This larger footprint also means a curb weight of 2,088 kg, which is 96 kg heavier than its five-seater sibling. Powering this expanded Model Y will be ternary NMC batteries supplied by LG.
The Model Y has historically been Tesla’s flagship in China, with 480,309 units sold in 2024, making it the best-selling car in the country. It accounted for a massive 74.6% of Tesla’s domestic sales, with the remaining going to the Model 3 sedan. Even amidst heavy competition from Chinese EV manufacturers like the Xpeng G6, Deepal S7, Zeekr 7X, and Onvo L60, the Model Y managed to maintain strong sales. However, since the introduction of the facelifted Juniper version in January, the Model Y seems to be losing its earlier momentum in China. Sales for the first half of 2025 totaled 171,491 units, representing a 17.5% year-over-year decrease.
The precise breakdown of Tesla China sales into domestic and export figures will become available later this month, following the release by the CPCA.
