Tesla's October retail sales in China fall to lowest since July 2022

Tesla sold 8,817 cars at retail in China in October, its lowest month since July 2022, when it sold 8,461. That is CnEVPost's calculation from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.

Exports from its Shanghai factory went the other way, up to 59,012 cars.

The retail figure is the CPCA's wholesale total for Tesla China, 67,829, minus those exports. That makes exports 87 per cent of wholesale by our calculation, a record for the factory according to CnEVPost and CarNewsChina.

Retail down 66 per cent

Retail sales fell 66.1 per cent from 26,006 in October 2025, and 86.4 per cent from 64,837 in September. October was the fifth month in a row below the same month a year earlier.

CnEVPost puts Tesla's share of battery electric car retail sales in China at 1.15 per cent, from 3.20 per cent a year earlier. Over the first 10 months, retail sales were 389,905, down 15 per cent.

Exports carry the factory

The 59,012 exports, a CPCA figure carried by Cailian Press, were up 66.3 per cent on a year earlier and second only to July's 66,330.

They lifted the wholesale total 10.3 per cent on October 2025, though it was still the lowest month since February. Over 10 months, exports more than doubled to 420,984, just over half the 810,889 wholesale total by our calculation.

Cars, from CPCA data compiled by CnEVPost.

Where Shanghai's cars go

Shanghai builds the Model 3 and Model Y and exports them to Europe, the Asia-Pacific and Canada, Reuters reported. That includes the right-hand-drive cars delivered in Australia and New Zealand, Electrek reported in July.

In October, Tesla delivered 4,050 cars in Australia, the Electric Vehicle Council's figures show.