Tesla's China Sales Rose in July on Government Subsidies

By Jiahui Huang

Tesla's sales in China rose in July, as demand was boosted by more aggressive government subsidies for electric vehicles and hybrids.

The U.S. electric-vehicle maker sold 74,117 China-made cars in July, up 15% compared with a year earlier and 4.4% higher than a month earlier, preliminary data from the China Passenger Car Association showed Friday.

Although July is typically a weak period for auto production and demand, this year was a bit different, the CPCA said. China's EV market has seen a positive response in July following the introduction of a car trade-in program in April, it added.

As of July 25, more than 364,000 applications have been submitted for the government's trade-in subsidies. EV demand should get a further boost after authorities doubled trade-in subsidies to up to 20,000 yuan ($2,761) last week, the CPCA added.

Stronger consumption sentiment boosted Tesla's sales, and it remained the second-largest EV seller in China. Rival BYD sold 340,799 units in July, marking another monthly record and the fifth consecutive month of sales exceeding 300,000 vehicles.

Geely Auto stayed at third place in the market with sales of 59,051 units.

Li Auto notched a new monthly record of 51,000 units sold, helping the hybrid specialist surpass Chongqing Changan Automobile to take fourth place. Li Auto's strong sales in July should also ease investor concerns over weaker-than-expected sales for its MEGA model earlier this year.

The CPCA estimates total sales of electric passenger cars in China last month rose 29% from a year earlier to about 950,000 units, down 3% from June.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 02, 2024 06:24 ET (10:24 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.