Tesla exported 3,911 cars from its Shanghai plant in February, down 87% from 30,224 units last year and 86.8% down from January. The US automaker sold 26,777 vehicles in China, down 11.2% from last year and down 20.6% from January.

The export numbers are the lowest since June 2022, when Tesla exported 968 cars from Shanghai. Retail sales in China are at their lowest since October 2022, when Tesla sold 17,200 vehicles in the Middle Kingdom.

Exports accounted only for 12.7% of Tesla China sales in February, down from 50.1% last year and 46.7% in January. Tesla China sales mean wholesale from the Shanghai factory.

In total, Tesla China sold (domestic sales + export) 30,688 cars in February, down 49.2% from last year and 51.5% from January. This includes:

Model Y: 8,032 units (down 77.8% YoY)

Model 3: 22,656 units (down 6% YoY)

While Tesla’s export and retail sales were down 87% and 11.2% YoY, respectively, a year-on-year comparison with February 2024 is not ideal due to the shifting dates of the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday. A more correct comparison would be to take the year’s first two months (January+February) with the same period in 2024. 

In January+February Tesla sold 60,480 cars in China, down 13.6% year-over-year.

In January+February Tesla exported 33,446 cars from the Shanghai plant, down 46% from 61,790 units year-over-year.

Regarding overall Tesla China sales (domestic sales + export) in January + February, Tesla sold 93,926 China-made vehicles, down 28.7% from 131,812 in the same period last year.

Tesla launched the updated Model Y in January in China, ahead of Europe and the US. The deliveries started on February 26. On March 7, local media reported that Model Y hit 200,000 orders but noted that those orders have refundable deposits. Current wait times vary by model, with the rear-wheel-drive version estimated at 2-4 weeks and the long-range all-wheel-drive variant stretching to 6-10 weeks, according to Tesla’s Chinese website.

The facelifted Tesla Model Y with a 62.5 kWh battery from CATL and a 593 km CLTC range starts at 263,500 yuan (36,400 USD) in China for the RWD version.