Model 3 vehicles manufactured by Tesla in China are on display during a delivery ceremony at the factory in Shanghai, China, on January 7, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
BEIJING – Tesla sales in China more than doubled last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a dossier filed Monday.
Electric car manufacturers ’sales in China of $ 6.666 billion last year accounted for about one-fifth, or 21% of the total of $ 31.54 million.
In 2019, Tesla’s sales in China reached $ 2.988 billion, just 12% of the total of $ 24.58 million.
The United States continued to be Tesla’s largest market, with sales rising 20% last year to $ 15.221 billion and accounting for about half of total sales.
Tesla began increasing production last year at its Shanghai factory and selling vehicles in the country.
The company’s Model 3 was the best-selling electric car in the country in 2020, according to the Chinese Passenger Association. This year, the carmaker also began delivering a new model, a Y-model made in China, to local customers.
Still, Tesla faces competition in the local market from Chinese electric vehicle companies such as Nio and Xpeng, while regulatory scrutiny has increased.
On Monday, the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation said on its website that he and four other government departments recently met with local subsidiaries of Tesla for an increase in consumer reports on vehicle problems.
Among the various incidents that caught the attention of Chinese social media in recent weeks, a Model 3 exploded in January in a Shanghai car park. Last week, Chinese authorities said Tesla needed to recover more than 36,000 cars due to a failure of the touch screen.