Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 📉 Tesla China’s insurance registrations dropped to 3,200 units in the first week of July, indicating a decrease in domestic vehicle sales.
- 🚗 During the previous week, Tesla China had 17,400 insurance registrations, highlighting the significant decline.
- 📊 Insurance registrations are often used as an indicator of local sales trends, as Tesla China does not publicly disclose its weekly domestic sales numbers.
- 📦 In the early stages of a quarter, Tesla China focuses on exporting vehicles to foreign markets, which could explain the decrease in domestic registrations.
- 🏭 Giga Shanghai, Tesla’s largest factory by output, is busy with vehicle production and exports, indicating that Q3 exports are in full swing.
- 🌍 Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai continues to serve as the company’s primary vehicle export hub this quarter.
- 📈 In June, Tesla China sold a total of 93,680 Shanghai-made cars, as reported by the China Passenger Car Association.
It is the start of the third quarter, and true to form, Tesla China appears to be focusing its resources on its vehicle exports. As per industry watchers in China, Tesla’s insurance registrations fell to just 3,200 units in the week ending July 9.
Tesla China does not post its weekly domestic sales numbers in the country, though the trend for the company’s local sales could be inferred through vehicle insurance registrations. Such registrations are tracked by industry watchers, and some automakers, such as Li Auto, have taken it upon themselves to provide weekly reports on China’s weekly insurance numbers.
And as per Li Auto’s estimates, Tesla China appears to have seen 3,200 domestic vehicle insurance registrations from July 3 to July 9, 2023. This is a notable drop from the 17,400 insurance registrations that Tesla saw during the previous week, which ended July 4, 2023.
But while the drop in Tesla China’s registrations may be alarming, one should keep in mind that in the early phases of a quarter, the electric vehicle maker focuses its resources on exporting vehicles to foreign territories. This definitely seems to be the case for now, at least based on a recent drone flyover from longtime Gigafactory Shanghai watcher Jason Yang, who has been chronicling the activities around the Giga Shanghai complex for years.
As could be seen in the Tesla watcher’s video, Giga Shanghai seems to be as busy as ever. Tesla’s export area at the Shanghai port is also filled up with vehicles, suggesting that Q3 exports are fully underway. Needless to say, Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai is definitely still maintaining its role as the company’s primary vehicle export hub this quarter.
Tesla Giga Shanghai is the electric vehicle maker’s largest factory by output. This was highlighted by the facility’s results last month, with data from the China Passenger Car Association showing that Tesla China sold a total of 93,680 Shanghai-made cars in June.
Watch a recent drone flyover of the Tesla Giga Shanghai facility in the video below.
