American electric car pioneer Tesla Motors faced another setback as wholesale shipments of its China-made EVs fell again in May 2024, reflecting the broader challenges and fierce competition in the EV market. According to stats released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the wholesale shipments of Tesla's China-made Model 3 electric sedans and Model Y crossover SUVs amounted to 72,573 units last month, down 7 per cent year-over-year. The given figure in May includes local retail sales and exports.

As the recent sales failed to bring growth like in the first few years of the Giga Shanghai factory operation, some industry experts were quick to point out that the easy expansion path has probably ended. The slowdown in sales suggest that the market conditions are quite challenging, with competition getting tougher day by day.

However, it is worth-noting here that wholesale shipments are closely related to production but they don’t necessarily represent number of registrations or deliveries to customers.

Year to date (YTD), the total wholesale shipments crossed the mark of 355,000 units, but even this figure represents a decline of 7 per cent from the corresponding period of last year.

Stats available for the period of January through April this year suggest that the situation remains comparable in retail as well as export categories. Retail sales in China for the first four months of this year slipped by 7.5 per cent year-over-year, while exports fell by 6.7 per cent, indicating a broad-based commercial slowdown that affected domestic consumption as well as international trade.

When it comes to specific models. The Model 3 electric sedan saw a slight jump in sales, while the Model Y crossover SUV suffered a slight decline. The increase in the Model 3 sales is reportedly due 6to the launch of after the refreshed "Highland" version last year. On the other hand, the decline in sales of the Model Y can be attributed to changing consumer preferences.

For reference, in the whole year of 2023, the automaker’s total wholesale shipments settled at around 950,000 units, representing a growth of 33 per cent year-over-year.

Declining sales, amidst intensified competition in the EV market, signals a trickier road ahead for Tesla’s further expansion. Initially, the American EV giant’s Giga Shanghai operations enjoyed huge success and rapid growth. However, maintaining high sales volumes now demands strategic adjustments, such as implementing price cuts and boosting marketing efforts.