U.S. automaker Tesla sold 62,167 China-made electric vehicles in April, down 18% from a year earlier, China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data showed on May 7. The deliveries of China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles slid 30.2% from March.
Tesla's China-made cars are also exported to various markets including Europe and the CPCA didn't provide a breakdown of Tesla exports by destination. These numbers are a prelude to full data for April due out later this week.
The sharp slide contrasts with rising EV sales in China, although it is at the slowest pace in a year in the first quarter, amid slowing demand and a ferocious price war.
China's new-energy vehicle sales including battery-powered EVs and plug-in hybrids were estimated to hit 8,00,000 units in April, up 33% on the year and a 2% drop from the month before, according to CPCA data.
Tesla's biggest Chinese rival BYD, with its Dynasty and Ocean lineups of EVs and plug-in hybrids, sold 3,12,048 passenger vehicles in April, up 48.97% year-on-year and a 3.5% increase from March.
Tesla saw first-quarter vehicle deliveries fall for the first time in nearly four years. The company began the second quarter announcing layoffs of more than 10% of its global workforce and slashing vehicle prices in major markets including the United States, China and Europe.
Tesla's deliveries of China-made EVs skidded 19% year-on-year in February before edging up 0.2% in March, but the decline in tandem with a 25% slide in overall EV sales in China in February was partly due to shifted timings of the Chinese Lunar New Year that fell in February this year instead of January.
