Electric car drivers charge up their vehicles at a Tesla Supercharger in Fountain Valley in 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
(Bloomberg/Linda Lew) — Tesla Inc.’s China factory shipments dropped in 2025 despite a bump in December, as the Elon Musk-led carmaker struggled with a slowdown in global sales and lost its No. 1 spot.
The company shipped 851,732 vehicles from its Shanghai plant last year, down about 7% from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from China’s Passenger Car Association. That includes 97,171 in December, just the fourth month in 2025 that saw an increase.
The release doesn’t break down the proportion of shipments that were exported, though the bulk of the vehicles are sold locally.
The slump in China underscores the challenges Tesla is facing after it reported a second consecutive annual drop. While the Austin-based carmaker saw a jump in third quarter deliveries as customers rushed to buy EVs before the end of a US subsidy, challenges persist as countries scale back policy support. And despite Musk stepping back from his prominent role in politics, a consumer backlash continues to be a headwind for Tesla.
The tough year saw Tesla lose its title as world’s biggest EV maker to China’s BYD Co., despite the latter facing challenges of its own. Competition is intensifying in the Chinese market as manufacturers like Xiaomi Corp. release new, tech-centric models that are winning over consumers.
Xiaomi’s offerings directly target Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y. The smartphone maker’s YU7 sport utility vehicle is even closing in on the Model Y in China some months, selling 33,591 units compared with the latter’s 33,935 in November, according to China Automotive and Technology Research Center and Bloomberg Intelligence.
Data from China’s PCA also showed December 2025 new-energy vehicle wholesales — which include plug-in hybrid and battery-electric cars — increased 4% year-on-year to 1.57 million units.
For the full-year, NEV sales rose about 25%, according to Bloomberg calculations based on association numbers. The PCA will release final sales figures later this month.
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Originally published at Bloomberg