Tesla’s China-made EV sales extend gains despite industry slowdown

Published Wed, Feb 4, 2026 · 06:52 PM

[BEIJING] Tesla’s China-made electric vehicle sales rose for a third-straight month in January, even as China’s EV sales and exports were slow amid weak domestic demand.

Deliveries of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles made at Tesla’s Shanghai plant, including exports to Europe and other markets, were up 9.3 per cent from a year-ago period, extending gains for a third consecutive month, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Wednesday (Feb 4).

For the whole of 2025, its China-made EV sales slid 7.1 per cent as the US automaker grappled with declining sales in major European markets while its share of China’s fiercely competitive EV market fell to 8 per cent from 10 per cent in 2024.

Musk expects Europe and China to approve its driver-supervised Full Self-Driving system as early as this month, as Tesla looks to increase software revenue amid a slowdown in its core EV business.

The whole sector was faring poorly though, with China’s EV sales and exports estimated to grow by 1 per cent year-on-year last month, down sharply from a combined 25 per cent rise in 2025, per CPCA data.

The front-loading of car purchases at the end of last year weighed on January domestic sales, which was offset nonetheless by exports, the association said.

BYD, which is Tesla’s biggest Chinese competitor, reported a 30 per cent decline in global sales in January, as a revised government scheme of subsidising auto trade-ins weighed on budget car brands.

Some automakers still managed to post record January EV sales and exports, including Geely, Seres and Leapmotor. To woo consumers amid stagnant demand, at least 10 car brands including Xiaomi, Xpeng and Dongfeng Nissan have rolled out longer-term financing plans after Tesla made a first-of-its-kind seven-year offer to customers in China. REUTERS