BEIJING, April 11 (TMTPOST)— Tesla saw the highest ever shipment in China during the first quarter of the year, thanks to the strong demand and booming sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in the country.

Source: Visual China

Tesla China delivered 65,814 electric vehicles (EVs) in March, the highest monthly delivery since last December, suggesting the aggregate sales of 182,174 units in the first quarter, for the first time topping 180,000 for the company, data from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed. Among March’s delivery, more than 99%, or 65,754 Tesla China-made vehicles were sold in domestic market, while just 60 of the delivery for export to markets outside the country.

According to CPCA, the overall passenger car sales in China reached 1.579 million in March, decreasing 10.5% from a year ago while up 25.6% from the previous month. However, sales of NEVs, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and other non-fossil fuel-powered vehicles, witnessed far more robust growth that month as the retail sales rose by 137.6% year-over-year (YoY) to 445,000 units with a 63.1% month-over-month increase, the highest monthly growth in March.

The outstanding NEV sales performance came as gasoline prices kept soaring and fossil fuel vehicles experienced more disruptions resulted from China’s Covid resurgence in March, when two major traditional auto makers-- FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volksagen halted production. Partly due to the widening sales gap between fossil fuel vehicles and NEVs, the retail market penetration rate of NEV and the wholesale market penetration rate were 28.2% and 25.1% respectively in March, increasing 17.6 percentage points and 14 percentage points from a year earlier, CPCA estimated.

Lasts data showed Tesla's Chinese rivals resumed triple-digit delivery growth in March despite Covid headwinds. Xpeng, Nezha and Li Auto each delivered more than 10,000 units that month, with at least 120% YoY increase. NIO Inc delivered 9,985 vehicles in March, representing a 37.6% YoY growth, and is well on track of stronger delivery in the rest of the year since it planned to unveil the 2022 NIO ES8, ES6 and EC6 with the latest digital cockpit hardware in late May.