According to preliminary figures released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Wednesday, American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc. sold about 78,000 automobiles built in China in June.
The second quarter saw significant production halts at Tesla’s facility in Shanghai, the center of China’s economy, due to a lockdown that began in late March and lasted for 22 days.
Model 3 and Model Y vehicles are produced in the plant, which reopened on April 19 and resumed exports on May 11. However, production had a difficult time returning to pre-lockdown levels.
A almost two-year streak of record quarterly sales was broken by Tesla, who reported an 18% reduction in second-quarter deliveries from the prior quarter due in large part to the challenges in China.
According to an internal production letter obtained by media last month, Tesla planned to produce more than 71,000 vehicles at its Shanghai plant in June.
According to a different internal memo seen by media, the plant is undergoing an upgrade to increase its output, which necessitates it to halt the majority of production during the first two weeks of July. The document stated that the facility intends to eventually produce 22,000 automobiles each week.
In addition to Tesla, the CPCA projected that 1.926 million passenger cars were sold throughout China in June, increasing 22% year over year, thanks in part to recent market stimulation initiatives by local authorities.
In particular, electric vehicles were selling well. According to the organization, overall June sales could reach 546,000, up 130 percent year over year, with BYD Co. leading the way with 134,000 vehicles sold, according to CPCA estimates.
