TLDR
- Tesla’s China-made EV sales hit 58,600 units in February, up 91% year-on-year
- The jump was partly driven by a low base — February 2025 saw a production halt for the refreshed Model Y
- Exports from Shanghai soared roughly five-fold year-on-year to 20,000 vehicles
- Month-on-month, sales fell 15.2% from January
- Tesla launched a seven-year low-interest financing plan, prompting rivals including BYD to follow
Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory delivered 58,600 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in February, a 91% jump from the same month last year. That continues a four-month winning streak of year-on-year sales growth.
$TSLA China sold 58,600 China-made vehicles in February, up 91% from a year ago. Sales were down 15.2% from January, with Tesla citing normal seasonal weakness and a partial Model Y line shutdown during Lunar New Year. pic.twitter.com/CBcwPCyIna
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) March 11, 2026
But context matters here. February 2025 was a weak month for Tesla in China. The Shanghai plant partially shut down its assembly line during the Lunar New Year holiday to retool for the refreshed Model Y. That created a low bar for this year’s comparison.
Sales were also down 15.2% from January, which is fairly typical. The Lunar New Year period causes big swings in monthly data across the industry.
Exports out of Shanghai told a stronger story. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed exports soared roughly five-fold year-on-year to around 20,000 vehicles in February. Europe remains a key destination for those exports.
Tesla has been pushing hard on affordability in China. The company rolled out a seven-year, low-interest financing plan that has rattled the competition.
Rivals React
That financing move was enough to get BYD to follow suit. But BYD had a rough February regardless — global sales dropped in what was described as its biggest monthly decline since the pandemic. In China specifically, BYD sales fell 65% year-on-year last month.
BYD isn’t standing still though. The company unveiled its first major battery upgrade in six years last week, its clearest signal yet that it’s fighting back.
XPeng had an even steeper drop — deliveries fell 49.9% year-on-year in February. Geely managed a 1% increase to 206,160 vehicles. NIO was the standout among local players, posting a 57.6% year-on-year rise to 20,797 deliveries.
The Bigger Picture
Government subsidies in China have been scaling back, which is expected to heat up competition further as automakers compete more on price and financing terms.
Tesla’s seven-year loan offer is a direct response to that environment. It’s a price war fought with financing rather than sticker cuts.
The first two months of any year in China tend to be noisy due to Lunar New Year timing shifts. March data will give a cleaner read on where demand actually stands.
February’s 58,600 units included both domestic deliveries and exports. Tesla has not broken out those figures separately in its own statement.
The 91% year-on-year headline number will likely attract attention, but the underlying comparison base is the key factor driving that figure.
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