Tesla China retail sales plunge 66% in October to lowest since July 2022 as exports hit record 87% share

• Tesla sold only 8,817 vehicles in China in October, down 66.10% year-on-year.
• The Shanghai factory exported 59,012 vehicles, accounting for a record 87% of its monthly wholesale sales.

Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) retail sales in China fell to their lowest level since July 2022 in October, while exports accounted for a record share of its Shanghai factory's wholesale sales.

Tesla's Shanghai factory exported 59,012 vehicles in October, according to data released Monday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Subtracting exports from the previously reported wholesale total of 67,829 vehicles puts Tesla's domestic retail sales in October at just 8,817 vehicles, down 66.10% year-on-year and 86.40% from September.

This marked the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year declines in Tesla's China retail sales and the first time they fell below 10,000 vehicles since July 2022, when sales totaled 8,461, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

Meanwhile, Shanghai factory exports rose 66.27% year-on-year and 93.30% from September to their second-highest level on record, trailing only the 66,330 vehicles exported in July this year.

Exports accounted for 87% of Tesla China's October wholesale sales, surpassing the previous record of 76.01% set in October 2022, while domestic retail sales accounted for just 13%.

Export growth offset the decline in domestic retail sales, lifting Tesla China's October wholesale sales by 10.30% year-on-year for a tenth consecutive month of growth. However, wholesale sales fell 28.88% from September to their lowest level since February this year.

The decline in domestic retail sales also pushed Tesla's share of China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market down to 0.80%, from 2.03% a year earlier and 5.98% in September.

In the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market, Tesla's October retail share fell to 1.15%, from 3.20% a year earlier and 8.48% in September.

Both market shares were the lowest since April 2022, when Tesla accounted for 0.54% of China's NEV retail market and 0.71% of its BEV retail market, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

China's passenger NEV retail sales totaled 1,109,000 vehicles in October, including 770,000 BEVs, down 13.7% and 5.3% year-on-year, respectively. Both declines were smaller than Tesla's.

In the first 10 months of the year, Tesla's retail sales in China totaled 389,905 vehicles, down 15.00% year-on-year, widening from an 11.93% decline in the first 9 months.

The Shanghai factory exported 420,984 vehicles over the same period, up 101.28% year-on-year, driving a 21.42% increase in total wholesale sales, including domestic sales and exports, to 810,889 vehicles.

Exports accounted for 51.92% of wholesale sales in the first 10 months, up from 31.32% a year earlier, with cumulative exports overtaking domestic retail sales after October's figures were included.

With its China sales under pressure, Tesla announced a new financing program on October 30, lowering the minimum down payment for 5-year interest-free loans on selected Model 3 and Model Y variants to 39,900 yuan ($5,940), about 50% below the previous level.

Under the terms announced at the time, the program applies to eligible customers placing orders between October 30 and November 30, with options both with and without a balloon payment at the end of the loan term.

The Shanghai factory mainly produces the Model 3 and Model Y for both the Chinese market and export. Tesla disclosed on November 5 that the factory's local parts sourcing rate had risen to 98%.