BYD posted its highest monthly sales of the year, and Leapmotor topped 100,000 units for the second straight month, beating Tesla China
Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Tesla $TSLA tallied wholesale sales of 93,579 vehicles out of its Shanghai plant in July, a 37.85% increase versus the prior year that extended its streak of year-on-year gains to nine months running, per figures the China Passenger Car Association published Tuesday.
The figure was also the highest total for any July in Tesla's history, and the strongest monthly number since the Shanghai plant shipped 97,171 units in December 2025. Through the end of July, Tesla China had moved 561,528 units at wholesale, putting the year-to-date tally 29.88% above the same period in 2025.
Exports have been the primary driver of growth this year. During the second quarter, exports from Shanghai reached 128,394 vehicles, edging out the 126,157 units delivered domestically — the first time outbound shipments had surpassed home-market sales in any single quarter. Exports made up 40.60% of June's wholesale output from the Shanghai plant.
Domestic demand has trended in the opposite direction. China deliveries slid 2.05% against the prior year in the second quarter, a fifth successive quarterly retreat, pulling the market's share of Tesla's worldwide volume down to 26.28% — dipping under the 30% threshold for the first time since Q4 2020. At the model level, first-half China sales showed a sharp split: Model 3 volumes came to 66,442 units, falling 27.72% from a year earlier, while the Model Y held relatively steady at 172,513 units.
Competition inside China continues to intensify. BYD's July wholesale NEV tally came to 419,211 units, a 21.76% year-on-year gain that made it the automaker's best single month of the year so far. Leapmotor's July volume hit 101,267 vehicles, crossing the 100,000-unit threshold for the first time while surpassing Tesla China's tally for a second consecutive month.
The July results arrive against a backdrop of uncertainty over Tesla's China strategy. Tesla was reported by the Wall Street Journal to be weighing options to separate its China business, including a sale, spinoff, or closure, in anticipation of a potential merger with SpaceX. CEO Elon Musk denied the report on his social media platform, calling it "absurdly fake news" and saying the topic had never come up in discussion. A Tesla China representative separately called the report "false information."
The Shanghai factory is Tesla's largest production facility globally, with annual capacity of roughly 1 million vehicles. Roughly 95% of the parts used in vehicles built at the facility come from Chinese suppliers, according to Reuters.
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