US automaker Tesla sold 78,828 China-made electric vehicles in March, down 11.5 percent from a year earlier, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Wednesday.

Deliveries of China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles increased 156.9 percent from the previous month.

Chinese rival BYD (1211), with its Ocean and Dynasty EV and plug-in hybrid lineup, saw passenger vehicle sales up 23.1 percent year-on-year to 371,419 units last month.

Tesla began delivering a revamped version of the best-selling Model Y in late February in China and last month in the US and Europe, helping revive demand as potential customers had been waiting for the update.

The US EV specialist handed over 172,754 China-made cars including China shipments and exports to markets including Europe in the first quarter, 21.8 percent lower on year and the lowest in more than two years, amid rising competition in especially China.

BYD is set to unseat Tesla as the top global EV seller for the first time this year with a 15.7 percent market share, ahead of Tesla's 15.3 percent, according to Counterpoint Research.

The Chinese EV champion, which is targeting sales of 5.5 million units this year with 14.5 percent of the total shipped overseas, has roiled its home market by offering smart driving features on most of its lineup without extra charge and unveiling new super-charging EV technology.

Tesla's Chinese peers have launched at least six models in the past year to take on the Model Y, and Xiaomi’s (1810) new YU7 crossover is seen as probably its strongest rival when launched later in 2025.

In a bid to regain lost ground, Tesla will make a lower-cost version of the Model Y using existing production lines in Shanghai with mass production to begin next year, Reuters reported last month.

REUTERS

Tesla's China-made EV sales fall 11.5 percent y/y in March