Tesla China retail sales fall 10% in April despite reports of 36% surge

Tesla’s actual retail sales in China fell 10% year-over-year in April to just 25,956 vehicles, according to new data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) — despite widespread reports last week that Tesla’s China sales had surged 36%.

The discrepancy is the same one we’ve been flagging for months: the 36% figure is based on wholesale numbers from Giga Shanghai, which include exports. The retail figure, which reflects what Chinese consumers actually bought, tells a very different story.

The 36% headline was misleading

Last week, when CPCA released preliminary wholesale data showing Tesla’s Giga Shanghai output hit 79,478 vehicles in April, outlets from Reuters to Benzinga ran with variations of “Tesla China sales jump 36%.” The stock moved higher on the news.

The problem is that 79,478 includes every vehicle that left the Shanghai factory — including 53,522 vehicles shipped to overseas markets. That export figure was up 80% year-over-year and represented the second-highest monthly export total in Giga Shanghai’s history.