Tesla’s China Sales Increased 31% YoY in Feb: Shares Up 1.7% Premarket

Tesla’s sales of China-made cars rose by 31.65% to 74,402 in February, new data showed. However, the company’s retail sales struggled to maintain the pace seen in the fourth quarter as the effects of the demand boost from recent price cuts started to fade.

Tesla’s Market Share in China Fell Down 1%

Tesla sold 74,402 China-made electric vehicles (EVs) in February, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) reported on Friday. The figure marks a 31.65% increase year-over-year, up 12.6% from January when the biggest EV maker sold 66,051 China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

Tesla’s price cuts from earlier this year significantly drove demand for its cars, encouraging the automaker to try and maintain an average weekly output of 20,000 vehicles at its Shanghai factory in February and March. But the latest weekly data by CPCA showed that Tesla’s retail sales in China were still struggling to maintain the pace seen in Q4, suggesting the boost from price discounts is fading.

The company’s market share in China, its largest overseas market, fell to 9% in February 2023 from 10% a year ago, China Merchants Bank International data showed. Tesla’s EV rival in China, BYD, sold 191,664 vehicles last month, according to CPCA, while its market share grew to 37% from 27%.

Elon Musk’s EV maker has been ramping up efforts to increase its exports and enter new markets to maximize the production output from its Shanghai plant. To that end, Tesla has started delivering cars to Thailand and established its first Supercharger station there last month. In January, Tesla said it is in talks to strike a preliminary deal to build a car plant in Indonesia.

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Individual Investors Bought $13.6B of Tesla Shares in 2023 Alone

Meanwhile, individual investors’ interest in Tesla’s stock has sharply risen this year. According to Vanda Research, individual investors have repeatedly broken records for one-day TSLA purchases in recent weeks. They poured a net $13.6 billion into the carmaker’s shares in 2023 so far, compared to almost $17 billion in 2022.

The company’s stock has plummeted around 70% amid a broader market downturn and investors’ concerns over Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October. The billionaire faced backlash from Tesla shareholders last year over his increased focus on the social media platform. Shares of Tesla are up 1.7% in premarket trading Friday, trading at $190.90 ahead of the open.

Do you think Tesla’s stock could regain some lost ground in 2023? Let us know in the comments below.