Yahoo Finance Tesla Registers Record March Sales in China
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) registered record-breaking March sales in China despite the coronavirus pandemic.
While overall passenger car sales were down by more than 40% in China as compared to the same period last year, Tesla managed to eke out fabulous sales figures.
Overview of the month
The electric vehicle maker sold a total of 10,160 units in the world's hottest car market in March, as per the China Passenger Car Association. This was a big jump from 3,900 vehicles sold in February and 3,563 units sold in January. March also marked the company's highest ever monthly sales in China.
Tesla delivered roughly 30% of the battery electric vehicles in China in March. This is striking as the company's local vehicle production commenced only a few months ago. The company now looks forward to manufacturing as many as 1,50,000 Model 3 sedans from its Shanghai plant. The company is planning to produce 3,000 cars a week in the Shanghai factory, which is more than its pre-shutdown capacity.
Key developments
The automaker has ramped up home delivery services to its customers to enable seamless deliveries to the extent possible. This will help buyers to have their new cars delivered without having to travel.
The company is also providing "contactless test drive," enabling customers to schedule an appointment to test drive the vehicles. Using Tesla's mobile application, the customers can unlock the vehicle.
Tesla recently announced furloughs for hourly workers who have no critical operations and deduction of executive salaries by 30% until May 4, when it will resume manufacturing electric cars at two U.S. facilities (Fremont production facility and Giga New York Solar plant), which were closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, Tesla recorded its best-ever first-quarter deliveries of roughly 88,400 vehicles. The company produced approximately 103,300 vehicles in the reported period.
Disclosure: I do not hold any positions in the stocks mentioned.
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