By Michael Elkins
Electric vehicle giant, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is down slightly in pre-market trading after the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) reported a steep decline in July sales.
Tesla sold 28,217 China-made cars last month, bringing the company’s share in China’s new energy vehicle market down 2.2% year-over-year to 1.7%. The figure represents a sharp decline when compared to the 78,000 units sold in June.
China's overall passenger car sales in July jumped 20.1% from a year earlier to 1.84 million, the CPCA said.
Sales of electric cars accounted for 26.4% of the total in July and increased 117.3%, it added, with sales of plug-in hybrids outpacing pure electric cars.
Tesla China’s July numbers decreased because Giga Shanghai temporarily halted production to upgrade its Model 3 and Model Y assembly lines. The gigafactory in shanghai finished upgrading the Model Y assembly line in mid-July. Upgrades to the Model 3 assembly line were expected to finish by August 7, with production restarting on August 8.
CEO Elon Musk told investors at the group's annual general meeting last week that he expects to hit a production run-rate of around 2 million vehicles per year by December. With the Fremont Factory, Giga Shanghai, Giga Berlin, and its new headquarters in Austin, Tesla has a good chance of meeting its goal.