Tesla delivers 77,613 vehicles in China in Sept, second highest on record

Vehicles produced at Tesla factories are typically used for export at the beginning of the quarter and for local deliveries at the end of the quarter.

Tesla delivered nearly 80,000 vehicles in China in September, as the electric vehicle company's usual end-of-quarter production was used primarily to meet local consumer demand.

Tesla sold 83,135 China-made vehicles in September, including 5,522 for export, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

This means that Tesla China delivered 77,613 vehicles to local consumers in September, the second highest on record behind June's 77,938 vehicles.

The CPCA had announced two days earlier that Tesla China had sold 83,135 wholesale units in September, but did not provide a breakdown. Tesla has a factory in Shanghai that produces the Model 3 and Model Y.

Model Y wholesale sales in September were 51,802 units, the CPCA reported today, which means Model 3 wholesale sales were 31,333 units.

It's worth noting that wholesale sales for both models include exports, and their sales numbers in China are expected to be known in the CPCA's next new report.

Retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China were 611,000 units in September, with Tesla's share at 12.7 percent, down 2.9 percentage points from a year ago, the CPCA noted.

Tesla's September deliveries in China were in line with its previous pattern.

"Tesla makes cars for export in first half of quarter & for local market in second half," the company's CEO Elon Musk's account wrote on Weibo on August 18 in both Chinese and English.

In September, Tesla delivered about 93 percent of its total sales to Chinese consumers at its Shanghai plant.