Tesla ramps up exports from Shanghai factory

First, however, a note on China. It is important to distinguish between wholesale and retail sales in the country. For Tesla, whose Giga Shanghai factory produces vehicles for both the local market and export, this distinction is particularly critical. Wholesale sales represent all Teslas manufactured in China, including exports, and essentially reflect the utilisation rate of the factory. Retail sales, by contrast, refer only to vehicles sold within the Chinese market.

This division between domestic sales and exports fluctuates significantly for Tesla from month to month. Nevertheless, January saw remarkable figures. According to data published by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla sold 18,485 vehicles in China, the lowest figure since November 2022. Meanwhile, the company’s Shanghai plant exported 50,644 vehicles in January, which, based on data compiled by CnEVPost, represents the second-highest figure on record after the 54,504 units exported in October 2022. However, 2022 was heavily impacted by the effects of the Covid pandemic.

In total, Tesla’s wholesale sales for January 2026 amounted to 69,129 vehicles, just shy of the 71,000 units recorded in January 2024 and significantly above the 63,000 vehicles sold in the same month the previous year. However, the split between domestic sales and exports has reached new extremes—over the past three years, sales in China have never been this low, and in the entire years of 2024 and 2025, they never fell below 20,000 Teslas per month. The best export month in the past two years was October 2025, with around 35,500 vehicles shipped. As mentioned, exports of 40,000 or even 50,000 units were last seen during the Covid era.

At Giga Shanghai, Tesla produces the Model 3 and Model Y for both the local market and export. In January, according to CPCA data, more than half of the vehicles—38,916 units—were Model Y, while the Model 3 accounted for 30,213 units, remaining relatively consistent with the previous year. However, no breakdown is available at the model level between domestic sales and exports.

It remains to be seen whether this unusual shift in the ratio of domestic sales to exports marks the beginning of a new trend or merely another, albeit more extreme, fluctuation. What is clear is that Tesla was not alone in this development in January. At the start of the year, sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China fell by 19 percent to 643,000 vehicles, partly due to changes in subsidy policies at the turn of the year. In contrast, NEV exports from all Chinese manufacturers doubled in January—to 302,000 vehicles. This means that, with 50,644 exported cars, Tesla alone accounted for one-sixth of China’s battery-electric vehicle exports in January.

The decision on how many Teslas manufactured in China remain in the country and how many are exported will apparently be overseen by a new manager in the future. Tesla has appointed Joe Ward, Vice President of its Europe, Middle East, and Africa business, to lead the global sales of its electric vehicles. This is reported by Bloomberg, citing insiders. Ward’s appointment comes at a time when Tesla is facing a general decline in demand for battery-electric vehicles in the US and a sharp drop in sales in Europe, while CEO Elon Musk prioritises investments in artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and humanoid robots.

cnevpost.com (China figures), bloomberg.com (Joe Ward)