Tesla CEO Elon Musk wears a ‘Trump Was Right About Everything!’ hat while attending a cabinet meeting at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Tesla sales of its China-made cars fell in March as competition from local players like BYD intensified.
Tesla sold 78,828 electric vehicles in China in March, down 11.5% year-on-year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released on Wednesday. However, sales rose 157% compared with the 30,688 cars bought in February.
The U.S. carmaker is facing a number of headwinds in China, in particular mounting challenges from local rivals — which, unlike Tesla, logged growth.
BYD, for example, sold 371,419 so-called new energy vehicles in March, which includes battery hybrid cars, the CPCA said. That was a 23% year-on-year rise.
Sales from Geely, which owns brands such as Volvo Cars, rose 167% year-on-year to 119,696 vehicles last month.
In a bid to push back against competition, Tesla launched a revamped Model Y in January. The automaker’s stock suffered its worst quarter in the first three months of the year in terms of performance since 2022, amid mounting pressures. The company’s shares fell 3.04% by 08:04 a.m. EST in premarket trade on Wednesday.
Concerns have meanwhile mounted that President Donald Trump’s automotive tariffs could impact Tesla’s suppliers in Mexico and China, with the White House involvement of the company’s CEO Elon Musk also receiving backlash. Musk is part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is pushing for widespread government job cuts. The tech billionaire said last month that his involvement with DOGE could be hurting Tesla’s stock, amid protests, boycotts and attacks on Tesla dealerships around the world.
