Tesla China Deliveries Crash 64% In July After Planned Production Line Shutdowns

Tesla delivered just 28,217 vehicles in July in China, according to new data released on Monday.

The numbers represent a stunning -64.2% sequential drop from the month prior. The numbers include 8,461 cars sold in China and 19,756 units exported in the month, according to China’s Passenger Car association. 

While the dropoff was noticeable, Tesla was reportedly upgrading its Shanghai factory for the first several weeks of the month in July. Should the trend continue to look ugly in August, that would be more cause for concern. 

In July, production was halted to upgrade the factory’s Model 3 and Model Y lines. The upgrade was complete in mid-July for the Model Y line and the Model 3 line is expected to come back online August 8. 

For now, Teslarati indicates that exports seem to be operating as planned:

“Recently, a bunch of Model Y and Model 3 vehicles arrived in Australia and New Zealand. The first Model Y deliveries have reportedly started in Australia, while New Zealand deliveries are expected to begin soon.”

Recall, June was a banner production month for Tesla. The company sold about 78,000 China-made cars in June, up 142% from May.

The company sold 32,165 cars in China in May. In sum, EVs are seeing momentum in China for the month of June, as the country begins re-opening (again). 1.926 million passenger cars have been sold in China in June, the report says, which is a 22% rise from last year. 

Production upgrades aren’t the only roadblock Tesla has hit in China this year – the company has also been stung by the Chinese locking down parts of the country (again) every time a couple of Covid cases are recorded.