Tesla Outperforms Chinese Rivals with 17% Increase in EV Deliveries Amid Larger Government Subsidies

Tesla's electric vehicle deliveries from its China factory have increased by 17%, even as competitors Li Auto and Nio experience declining sales. The American automaker has managed to defy the overall downward trend in the first half of the year, aided significantly by increased government subsidies.

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) reports that Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, owned by the American auto manufacturer, shipped out 86,697 of their Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in August. This figure represents a 17 per cent increase from July and a 3 per cent rise compared to August of the previous year. The cars were delivered to both local and international customers.

Even with the recovery, the factory's shipments in the initial eight months of 2024 were 6 per cent lower than the 624,983 vehicles it shipped during the equivalent period the previous year.

Tian Maowei, a sales manager at Yiyou Auto Service in Shanghai, suggests that Tesla and other domestic competitors have gained from the Chinese government's monetary incentives designed to promote the acquisition of electric vehicles as substitutes. With a growing preference for electric vehicles over gasoline-powered ones among younger drivers, he anticipates that Tesla's sales figures in China will maintain a steady pace in the foreseeable future.

Towards the end of July, Beijing significantly increased the financial aid given to electric vehicle purchasers, a mere three months following its introduction of benefits designed to speed up the transformation of the local car industry.