Tesla sold 70,602 vehicles in the country last December, the highest sales on record

Tesla China's sales in the domestic market in December last year were 70,847 units, an increase of 197.6% year-on-year, an increase of 34% over November 2021, which can be called a demonstration of the strength of China's auto market. Among them, 70,602 electric vehicles were sold in China and 245 were exported.

Tesla China's sales figures for November 2021 reached 52,859. As of press time, Tesla China's original production data for the previous month had not been released, but if this figure is close to the company's sales figures, then the electric car maker will achieve an annual production rate of more than 800,000 vehicles by the end of 2021.

While Tesla's extremely low export figures for China in December may be quite surprising, it should be noted that the company typically focuses on car exports in the first half of each quarter. As a result, domestic sales were lower in the first quarter, while domestic sales in the fourth quarter were strong. This was the case in the fourth quarter of 2021, with Tesla China's domestic sales in October slightly higher than 13,000 units, and domestic sales in November about 31,700 units.

With the Shanghai plant becoming Tesla's main auto export center, the plant's electric vehicle production is currently split between domestic and international markets. This means that Tesla China's potential in the field of local electric vehicles has not yet been fully realized. For example, in more than 2021, Tesla's annual domestic sales reached 319102 vehicles. However, if more of the Shanghai plant's auto production is allocated to the domestic market, this figure is likely to be higher.

The Shanghai factory played a huge role in Tesla's overall performance in 2021, and it undoubtedly provided a significant boost to Tesla's car production during this rather challenging year. Despite continued shortages of chips and supply chains, Tesla China has achieved impressive delivery figures.