Model 3 vehicles manufactured by Tesla China are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai, China, January 7, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
BEIJING – Tesla’s sales in China doubled last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a file filed on Monday.
China’s electric vehicle sales of $ 6.66 billion last year accounted for about one-fifth, or 21% of the total, of $ 31.54 billion.
In 2019, Tesla sales in China reached $ 2.98 billion, only 12% of the total of $ 24.58 billion.
The US remained Tesla’s largest market, with sales up 20% last year to $ 15.21 billion and accounting for about half of total sales.
Tesla began stepping up production last year at its Shanghai plant and selling Chinese-made cars in the local market.
The company’s Model 3 was the best-selling electric car in the country in 2020, according to the China Automobile Association. The carmaker has also started delivering a new model, a Y model made in China, to local customers this year.
However, Tesla is facing competition in the local market for Chinese electric car start-ups such as Nio and Xpeng, while regulatory control has increased.
On Monday, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said on its website that he and four other government departments recently met with local subsidiaries of Tesla about an increase in consumer reports on vehicle issues.
Among several incidents that have attracted attention on Chinese social networks in the last few weeks, a Model 3 is said to have exploded in a garage in Shanghai in January. Last week, Chinese authorities said that Tesla must recall more than 36,000 cars due to a failure of the touch screen.