Tesla remained a strong contender in Beijing’s competitive electric vehicle scene, as the company’s China-produced EV sales grew modestly in January from the year before, amid a broader industry slowdown.
According to data published by the China Passenger Car Association on Wednesday, January deliveries from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory rose by 9% to 69,129 units, from 63,238 in January 2025.
The latest January deliveries places Tesla in third place against other Chinese EV manufacturers. BYD was in the lead at 205,518 shipments, while Geely came in second with 124,252 units, according to the CPCA.
Despite the rise in deliveries, there is little indication of an actual growth in demand for Tesla’s offerings in China — the world’s largest EV market.
The company’s January delivery figures reflect the total number of shipments from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, which produces the Model 3 and Model Y for domestic and foreign markets in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and elsewhere.
New registrations in January for Tesla passenger vehicles — a proxy for sales — rose slightly in Europe, according to Reuters.
Domestic price war
Tesla has faced stiff competition from a number of Chinese EV brands with more affordable offerings. In a separate report, the CPCA noted that the total sales of Tesla’s China-produced EVs fell by 4.8% in 2025 — one of only two manufacturers in Beijing that reported declining annual sales from the year before.
At around 235,500 yuan ($33,943), Tesla’s base Model 3 sedan costs nearly three times the price of the base model for BYD’s Seal, at around 79,800 yuan.
Like other automakers, Tesla has sought to maintain its competitiveness in China through aggressive price cuts. According to its Chinese website, Tesla has begun offering five-year 0% interest loans, or seven-year “ultra-low” interest rate loans for orders placed before Feb. 28.
“We have [had] really intense price wars that have gone on, although the government and industry have called on automakers to not engage with aggressive pricing strategies,” Abby Tu, principal research analyst from S&P Global Mobility, tells CNBC.
Despite these involutive price wars, China’s EV market has slowed considerably.
According to CPCA data, new energy vehicle sales, which include hybrid and battery-powered cars, grew by only 1% year on year in January – a fourth-straight month of slowing growth.
The slowdown is projected to continue, as Beijing has slashed support for new EV sales. From Jan. 1, a 5% tax on new energy vehicle purchases was reinstated, after previously being exempted from the full 10% tax for more than a decade. New energy vehicles include battery and hybrid-powered cars.
New regulations
Tesla’s challenges are further compounded by a recent announcement from Beijing which will effectively ban concealed door handles.
On Monday, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that from Jan. 1, 2027, all door handles on cars sold in the country must have interior and exterior mechanical releases.
The announcement follows a spate of high-profile incidents in the U.S. and China, where EV occupants involved in road accidents could not be freed after their vehicles caught fire, as a result of power failures in the door-locking mechanisms.
While automakers in China have a decent runway to ensure compliance with the new regulations, it remains to be seen how Tesla will adapt, given that flush door handles were first popularized as a signature design feature on Tesla’s minimalist vehicles.
Some analysts, like Tu Le, founder and managing director of consulting firm Sino Auto Insights, see China’s new car door handle restrictions as likely to pose a “decent sized headache” for Tesla.
However, Tu said, China’s new regulations will likely have little impact on most automakers.
“I think for lots of Chinese brands, this new regulation [will not] take them by surprise, because when regulators were drafting the new regulations, they consulted OEMs and industry experts intensively,” Tu says.
CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.
Correction: This copy has been updated to correctly reflect the name spelling of Abby Tu, principal research analyst from S&P Global Mobility.