American electric car pioneer Tesla Motors successfully maintained solid production and sales of its Made-in-China (MIC) Model 3 and Model Y BEVs in April, preliminary sales data revealed.

According to sales data published by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the overall wholesale vehicle shipments (including local retail sales as well as exports) amounted to 75,842 units in April 2023. That is roughly in line with the four-month average of slightly more than 76,000 units. This figure also represents a massive growth year-over-year. In April 2022, the base was quite low, at 1,512 units, mainly due to a local lockdown.

During the January through April period of this year, the total wholesale sales jumped 66 per cent year-over-year to more than 305,000 units.

While the aforementioned stats show that the Tesla Giga Shanghai production plant is producing BEVs at a strong rate, the market situation remains challenging. In fact, the American BEV manufacturer’s production plants are running at their respective maximum or near maximum capacities.

Only time will tell if the coming months will be smooth in terms of sales for the company that aims to sell more than 900,000 units this year. However, it can be taken for guaranteed that the company will have to trim down prices of its BEVs to achieve such a level amid growing competition.

During the January through March quarter of 2023, most of the BEVs that were produced at Tesla Giga Shanghai was sold locally. To be more specific, the American brand sold more than 137,000 units locally, while nearly 91,000 units were exported. The tesla Model Y crossover SUV accounted for two-thirds (154,000 units) of the company’s total BEV sales, while the Tesla Model 3 electric sedan accounted for nearly 75,000 units.

It may be noted here that the Tesla Model Y is one of the world’s most popular BEVs. This battery electric compact crossover went into series production at the company’s Fremont production facility in January 2020, while deliveries started in March 2020. As it is based on the Model 3 sedan platform, it shares almost 75 per cent of its parts with the Tesla Model 3, including a similar interior & exterior design.

While Tesla is operating multiple production plants around the globe, Tesla Giga Shanghai remains the largest plant in terms of BEV production volume, with an annual production capacity of around one million units.