- Tesla's retail sales in China fell for a second consecutive month in April, largely driven by a significant surge in exports from its Shanghai plant.
- The company's retail share in China's NEV market dropped to its lowest level since November 2025.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) saw a decline in its retail sales in China in April, primarily because the company allocated more capacity from its Shanghai factory to exports.
Tesla's retail sales in China stood at 25,956 vehicles in April, down 9.66% from a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month of year-on-year decline, according to data released Monday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Compared to the 56,107 vehicles sold in March, Tesla's April retail sales in China plunged 53.74%.
During the January-April period, Tesla's cumulative retail sales in China totaled 138,754 vehicles, representing a 15.05% drop from the same period last year.
The weak retail sales dragged down Tesla's market share in China. Tesla accounted for 3.06% of China's overall new energy vehicle (NEV) retail sales of 849,000 units in April, marking its lowest market share since November 2025.
In China's battery electric vehicle (BEV) market, Tesla's sales share stood at 4.48%, also hitting a new low since November 2025.
In contrast to the sluggish domestic retail performance, Tesla's exports were strong in April.
Tesla exported 53,522 vehicles from China in April, the second-highest export figure on record, trailing only the 54,504 units exported in October 2022, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
The export figure achieved a year-on-year growth of 80.04%, and also surged 81.04% compared to March.
In the first four months of this year, Tesla's total vehicle exports from the Shanghai plant reached 154,122 units, representing a 127.07% year-on-year surge.
Combining domestic retail and overseas exports, Tesla China's wholesale volume reached 79,478 vehicles in April, up 35.96% from a year earlier but down 7.23% from March.
The April wholesale volume included 52,143 Model Ys, up 53.54% year-on-year, and 27,335 Model 3s, up 11.58% year-on-year.
Currently, the specific April retail sales in China for the Model Y and Model 3 — the two Tesla models produced at the Shanghai plant — remain unknown.
To boost domestic demand, Tesla adjusted its car purchasing financial policies in China in May. The company canceled its seven-year low-interest loan, retaining only a zero-interest financing plan for up to five years.
Tesla's domestic peers showed mixed performances in April.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) delivered 29,356 vehicles in April, achieving a 22.83% year-on-year growth, but down 17.27% from March.
Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) delivered a total of 31,011 vehicles in April, remaining largely flat compared to the same period last year (up slightly by 0.43%), but experienced a double-digit decline of 16.97% from March.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) delivered 34,085 vehicles in April, representing a 0.43% increase year-on-year but a 16.97% decrease from March.
BYD (HKG: 1211) recorded a wholesale volume of 321,123 NEVs in April, up 6.96% from March. However, this marked the company's eighth consecutive month of year-on-year sales decline, with a drop of 15.51%.
Geely Auto (HKG: 0175) reached a sales volume of 235,164 vehicles in April, up slightly by 0.45% from a year earlier and up 0.92% from March.
