Tesla is coughing more and more dangerously in China

As the Chinese market shifts more towards electric vehicles every day, Tesla‘s sales have dropped by 15% compared to 2023.

As the months go by, we keep repeating ourselves. Tesla has a serious problem in China, where its popularity continues to decline under the blows of rivals who are even more technologically advanced than the American manufacturer. We may not yet realize it from Europe, but the electric wave from Chinese manufacturers is accompanied by an unexpected technological leap.

In the West – Europe and North America – protectionism and communication are currently safeguarding Tesla, but the numbers are stubborn. Thus, since January 1, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, Tesla’s sales in China have stagnated while the market is experiencing significant growth. And compared to the last quarter of 2023, the decline is severe: -25%.

Production at the Gigafactory in Shanghai, where the Model Y domestics and Model 3 for China, Asia, and Europe are produced, only turned out 60,365 cars in February. This is about 2,000 per day. And 50% of this production was destined for exports (with the scandal of Model 3 in Canada…), meaning that China is currently absorbing only about 1,000 sales per day in a market of 1.4 billion inhabitants.

An international contagion?

Tesla clings to a good statistic that unfortunately didn’t last: in January, with a wide promotional campaign, sales were historically very good. But since then, the drop has been staggering, with sales reduced by up to 5 in week 7 compared to week 4 (2,600 sales versus 12,600).

If March marks an upward trend in weekly sales, they remain very below the same time in 2023: 18,000 sales in week 11 of 2023 compared to 12,000 in 2024. That’s -30%.

The unjustly high positioning, national preference, and the weakness of the range (only 2 actual models) are complications for Tesla. These will spread to other markets very quickly now.

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