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Tesla Sales in China Drop by 98% Due To Strict COVID-19 Lockdown
(CTN News) – Tesla’s sales in China have decreased by 98% due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Currently, China, the world’s largest automobile market, is at an all-time low in terms of automobile sales due to the lockdown. According to the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla sold 1,512 cars in mainland China last month, a decrease of 98% from March. In the world’s second-largest economy, consumer spending has fallen sharply as tens of millions of people in at least 31 cities have been locked down for weeks.
CNN reported that Tesla was the biggest seller of electric vehicles in March, shipping 65,184 vehicles from its Shanghai facility. When the government shut down Shanghai in April to stop the spread of the virus, the company’s production and sales suffered. Tesla’s Gigafactory was shut down for several weeks last month, and manufacturing has only just resumed.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk ‘doesn’t expect this to be a huge issue’
The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, said on Tuesday at the Financial Times’ virtual vehicle conference that he had recently spoken with Chinese authorities and the lockdowns are being lifted quickly. Furthermore, he stated that he doesn’t expect this to be a major issue in the near future.
Overall car sales in the country fell 46% in April compared to March
In April, production at five major automakers in Shanghai fell by an average of 75%. CNN reports that during the same period, big automakers in northeastern Changchun saw their production drop by 54%. China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers released data on Wednesday showing overall car sales in the country fell 46% in April compared with March, to 1.2 million units. The April sales figure was the lowest in a decade.