Tesla reports record sales in China

January 03, 2025 (MLN): U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla said on Friday that its China sales rose 8.8% to a record high of more than 657,000 cars in 2024, as Reuters reported.

This strong performance came in a competitive market during a year when its annual global deliveries fell for the first time.

Tesla's sales in the world's largest auto market also increased 12.8% in December from a month earlier to a record high of 83,000 units, according to Tesla China.

In 2024, Tesla delivered 36.7% of its cars to customers in China, its second-largest market, based on the sales figures.

But global deliveries nonetheless slid 1.1%, missing CEO Elon Musk's earlier prediction of slight growth.

Reduced European subsidies, a U.S. shift toward lower-priced hybrid vehicles, and tougher global competition, especially from China's BYD, were a drag on sales.

Tesla's record China sales, while its worldwide deliveries fell, reflect the global EV landscape.

John Zeng, head of market forecast for China at London-based consultancy GlobalData, said China is the only major market seeing robust growth, compared to a slowdown or even decline in other markets.

China accounted for 70% of global sales of EVs and hybrids in the first 11 months of 2024, and over 90% of an increase in global EV and hybrid sales over last year came from China, industry data showed.

With full-year global sales of 1.79 million cars, Tesla was still narrowly ahead of BYD, whose EV sales grew 12.1% to 1.76mn globally.

The U.S. EV giant downsized its global workforce last year in the face of tepid demand and stiffer competition from Chinese EV makers, and cut the size of its China sales team.

As an EV price war in China enters a third year, Tesla has extended a ¥10,000 ($1,369.99) discount on outstanding loans for its best-selling Model Y as well as zero-interest financing of up to five years for some Model 3 and Model Y cars until the end of this month.

BYD, which has led a cost-cutting competition with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and plug-in hybrids, overshot its sales target, with passenger vehicle sales up 41% to over 4.25mn units last year.

The Chinese EV champion's overseas shipments rose 71.9% to 417,204 units, or 9.8% of its global sales, missing its export target of 450,000 for 2024, as it faces a 17% additional tariff, the lowest the EU has assigned Chinese EVs from China.

Nearly one out of five BYD cars sold outside of China was in Brazil.

BYD and its contractor, Jinjiang Group, are facing investigations by Brazilian authorities into the conditions of Chinese workers at the construction site of a local BYD factory.

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