Tesla’s Oct China-made EV sales fall 5.3 per cent

US automaker Tesla sold 68,280 China-made electric vehicles in October, down 5.3 per cent from a year earlier, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Monday.

Deliveries of China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles fell 22.7 per cent from the previous month.

Chinese rival BYD, with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and plug-in hybrids, hit another monthly record, with a 66.2 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger vehicle sales to 500,526 units last month.

Overseas shipments made up 6 per cent of total sales, according to a BYD filing.

The US EV company’s third-quarter earnings beat estimates after one-offs for layoffs in the prior quarter and it posted the first annual gain in deliveries this year owing to sales promotions.

It still outsold BYD in EV shipments last quarter, but was bested by the Chinese rival in revenue terms.

In late October, Tesla extended a zero-interest financing scheme it first introduced in China in July for some Model 3 and Model Y cars by another month to the end of November. Deliveries of China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles slid 22.7% from the previous month.

Chinese rival BYD, with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and plug-in hybrids, hit another fresh monthly record with a 66.2 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger vehicle sales to 500,526 units last month.

Overseas shipments made up 6 per cent of the total sales, according to a BYD filing.