Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 📈 Tesla China saw a 37% improvement in domestic sales figures last week compared to the previous week.
- 🚗 Estimates based on insurance registrations suggest that Tesla China had 10,600 registrations in the week ending July 30.
- 🏭 Tesla China’s steady domestic sales performance is notable, considering its focus on vehicle exports during the first half of a quarter.
- 🚀 Domestic sales were expected to drop as Gigafactory Shanghai usually prioritizes exports during the initial months of a quarter.
- 🚗 Tesla’s healthy number of insurance registrations per week in China indicates strong demand for its vehicles, despite some customers waiting for the Model 3’s “Project Highland” update.
While Tesla China may be directing its efforts towards vehicle exports, the company seems to be experiencing a consistent demand for its cars in the domestic market. According to industry estimates, the electric vehicle manufacturer witnessed a notable 37% surge in domestic sales figures last week compared to the previous week.
Although Tesla China does not officially disclose its weekly sales figures, analysts can gauge the overall trends in the country’s vehicle sales by monitoring insurance registrations, which are tracked by industry observers online. Even other automakers like Li Auto have been proactive in sharing their insurance registration data regularly. This data provides valuable insights into the performance of electric vehicle sales in the Chinese market.
As per Li Auto’s recent report, which was posted by the automaker on Weibo, Tesla China saw 10,600 registrations in the week ending July 30. Such numbers represent a 37.66% improvement from the 7,700 units that were registered in the previous week. With its most recent estimates, Tesla China appears to have sold about 31,300 vehicles domestically from July 1 to July 30, as tracked by CNEV Post.
That’s not a bad number at all considering that Tesla China typically allots the majority of its resources to exports during the first half of a quarter. Considering that July is the first month of Q3, expectations were high that Gigafactory Shanghai would be producing vehicles that are mostly for exports. And when Giga Shanghai is focused on exports, domestic sales typically drop by a notable degree.
This does not seem to be happening as much this quarter, as Tesla China still seems to be seeing a pretty healthy number of insurance registrations per week. This bodes well for the electric vehicle maker, especially considering that some buyers of the Model 3 sedan, which is produced locally, are probably holding off on their vehicle purchase due to the impending rollout of the vehicle’s “Project Highland” update.
