BEIJING, July 5 (TMTPost)— Tesla Inc. posted strong sales growth in China, its second largest market that contributes a lot for the electric vehicle (EV) giant’s record high quarterly sales. 

Credit：Visual China

Wholesale sales of Tesla China rose around 19% year-over-year (YoY)to 93,680 units in June, the highest monthly volume in the first half of the year, according to the China’s Passenger Car Association (CPCA). Tesla China maintained the second place by wholesale sales of new energy passenger car in June, data of the auto industry body showed. Tesla China sales were cooling off compared with the previous month. Its wholesale sales surged 142% YoY to 77,695 in May. Recent data showed Tesla is expected to become the champion by luxury car delivery in China in June, or even in the first half of year, the state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News commented.

CPCA data came days after Tesla disclosed it has set new quarterly delivery record. It shipped 466,140 EVs in the quarter ended June, beating analysts’ projection of 445,924. The numbers represent a 83% YoY increase and a 10.2% quarter-over-quarter increase.

Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory started operations in late 2019 and has maintained the installed annual capacity of more than 750,000 vehicles since the second quarter last year, topping all the other faculties in the world. It builds Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China and for exports. Vehicles made by Shanghai factory began to deliver for Thailand market in February.

CPCA estimated Tesla Shanghai factory delivered more than 710,000 vehicles in 2022, accounting for about 54% of the automaker’s annual delivery. Shipment in the factory increased 48% from a year earlier, despite a three-week shutdown owing to the Covid-19 that had made Tesla lost weeks’ of capacity. The outstanding performance was at the cost of various forms of price war. Tesla has launched five rounds of promotion including price cuts and various subsidies from the mid September to the end of 2022. The U.S. automaker slashed price by up to 13% in China on January 6, intensifying the price war to boost demand. It surprisingly reversed the price promotion campaign in May, with two price increases announced in four days.

CPCA data showed BYD Co. consolidated its lead in EV sector in the past month. Wholesale sales of the Buffett-backed company stood at 251,685 units, about 2.7 times more than Tesla.

BYD in the start of this month said it sold 250,300 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in June, suggesting an 88.79% YoY increase. China’s top EV manufacturer for the first time sold more than 250,000 units in a month, a new record for the second consecutive month. Sales in the quarter ended June also set a record of more than 700,000 units, almost doubling a year earlier. The company sold over 1.25 million NEVs in the first half of the year, accounting for about two thirds of sales last year.

Other Tesla’s Chinese rivals also delivered robust growth in June. Aion, a brand owned by the state-owned manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC), sold 45,013 vehicles in June, refreshing sales record for the fourth consecutive month with an 86.7% yearly increase. Li Auto Inc smashed record for the fourth month with a delivery of 32,575 vehicles in June, up 150.1% YoY. Xpeng Inc and Nio Inc 's deliveries declined from a year ago but had double-digit growth from the previous month. Xpeg’s delivery rose 17% month-over-month (MoM) to 8,620 units while Nio’s jumped 74% to 10,707 units.