Tesla's June China sales rise 3.7% to 61,000

Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory delivered 191,000 vehicles in the second quarter, up 10.98 percent from the first quarter. Its June domestic sales reached 61,000 units, marking a 59 percent month-on-month increase, 3.7 percent year-on-year growth, and the highest monthly domestic sales in the second quarter, the company told the Global Times on Thursday.

Zhang Xiang, director at the Digital Automotive International Cooperation Research Center of the World Digital Economy Forum, attributed the growth to the new Model Y, which has helped boost sales.

On Tuesday, Tesla announced an improved driving range for the long-range versions of its Model 3 and Model Y, which marks Tesla's second range upgrade this year.

The Model 3 Long Range All-Wheel Drive version, with the starting price set at 285,500 yuan ($39,844.), now offers an improved CLTC range (the estimated driving distance that the electric vehicle can cover on a single charge) of 753 kilometers and accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 3.8 seconds. The updated Model Y Long Range All-Wheel Drive version also achieves an increased CLTC range of 750 kilometers, up 31 kilometers, with the starting price unchanged at 313,500 yuan.

Preliminary monthly data showed that Tesla China's wholesale sales reached 71,599 vehicles in June, up 0.8 percent year-on-year and 16 percent month-on-month, marking the factory's first year-on-year growth in nine months, according to financial news portal stcn.com, citing the China Passenger Car Association.

With the technological advancements from Chinese automakers, Zhang told the Global Times on Thursday that the intensifying domestic competition may also affect consumers' purchasing decisions, citing rapid progress in autonomous driving from domestic players as an example.

Several Chinese car brands also released their June reports recently. For example, BYD led the market with 382,585 new-energy vehicles (NEVs) delivered in June. XPeng's deliveries surged 224 percent year-on-year, maintaining over 30,000 units for eight straight months. Leapmotor set a new record with 48,006 vehicles delivered, up over 138 percent year-on-year, per media reports.

Despite the growing sales in China, Tesla's global deliveries in the second quarter reportedly declined sharply.

In the second quarter, the US automaker produced over 410,000 NEVs and delivered over 384,000 vehicles, according to the press release. The 384,000-figure marked a 14 percent decline from a year ago, and the second straight quarterly drop, CNBC reported on Wednesday. The report noted that deliveries in the first quarter of 2025 dropped 13 percent from a year earlier to 336,681.

In 2024, Tesla delivered roughly 1.79 million new vehicles, a 1.1 percent decrease from the 1.81 million delivered in 2023, marking the company's first annual sales drop since 2015. Factors such as Elon Musk's political involvement, aging Tesla models, and intensifying market competition have fueled expectations of continued sales declines in 2025, according to stcn.com.