Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) giant, sold 78,828 China-made electric vehicles in March, marking an 11.5% decline from the same month last year, according to data released Wednesday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Despite the year-on-year drop, deliveries of Tesla’s China-made Model 3 and Model Y surged 156.9% from February, buoyed by the rollout of a revamped Model Y that began in late February in China and extended to the U.S. and Europe in March.
The update has rekindled demand among customers who had been holding off for the refresh.
However, Tesla’s first-quarter performance in China paints a bleaker picture.
The company delivered 172,754 China-made vehicles—including exports to markets like Europe—down 21.8% from the previous year and the lowest quarterly total in over two years.
The slump comes amid intensifying competition in China, the world’s largest EV market, where local players are rapidly gaining ground.
Chief among Tesla’s rivals is Chinese automaker BYD, which saw passenger vehicle sales soar 23.1% year-on-year to 371,419 units in March.
With its popular Ocean and Dynasty lineups of EVs and plug-in hybrids, BYD is poised to overtake Tesla as the world’s top EV seller in 2025.
According to Counterpoint Research, BYD is projected to claim a 15.7% global market share this year, edging out Tesla’s 15.3%.
The Shenzhen-based company, targeting 5.5 million units sold in 2025 with 14.5% earmarked for export, has disrupted its home market by bundling smart driving features into most models at no extra cost and debuting cutting-edge super-charging technology.
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