Tesla September China Sales Hit Record-High Despite Overall Q3 Softness: CPCA Data

Tesla Inc. TSLA hit record wholesale sales in China in September, according to preliminary data released by the China Passenger Car Association, reported Reuters.

What Happened: The U.S. electric vehicle maker sold 83,135 Chine-made EVs in September, up 8.02% from the 76,965 cars it delivered in August — which was the previous record held by Tesla. On a year-over-year basis, the increase was about 48.4%.

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In July, Tesla's sales plummeted due to a factory upgrade. Since then, sales have been gaining momentum. Weekly production at the Giga Shanghai has now increased to around 22,000, said the Reuters report.

Warren Buffett-backed BYD Company Limited BYDDY BYDDF reported last week it sold 94,941 EVs in September, while U.S.-listed Chinese EV trio of Nio Inc. NIO, XPeng Inc. XPEV and Li Auto Inc. LI sold 10.878, 8,468, and 11,531 cars, respectively, for the month.

Why It’s Important: Tesla reported on Oct. 2 third-quarter global deliveries of 343,830 units, which missed the consensus estimate by about 15,000 units.

Tallying the July through September numbers from CPCA, it appears that 188,317 units, or about 55%, were MIC cars.

While the company blamed the softness on logistics issues, analysts have pointed their fingers at a demand slowdown in China. Given the preliminary CPCA numbers do not give a break-up of domestic sales and exports, the premise cannot be verified.

Tesla customarily focuses on producing cars for the domestic market in the second half of the quarter.

Price Action: Tesla closed Friday’s session down 6.32% at $223.07, according to Benzinga Pro data.