Tesla has sold 14,000 vehicles in the Chinese market between August 11 and 17, according to insurance registration figures shared this Tuesday.
The figures marked the best week of the third quarter for the company, up slightly by 4.5% from the prior week’s 13,400 vehicles. Registrations of the Model 3 sedan surpassed Xiaomi’s debut model for the first time since January.
Overall figures from the first six weeks of the quarter are 60.3% up when compared to the second quarter, despite being 2.1% down year over year.
Between January 1 and August 11, Tesla sold over 340,000 vehicles in China — 5.9% below the same period a year ago.
Last week, the company launched a new iteration of the Model 3 in China, which has the longest driving range yet at 830 km — 515 miles — under the CTLC standard.
The model is priced from 269,500 yuan, equivalent to $37,500. Deliveries are expected to start in September.
A couple days later, the upcoming Model Y L, a six-seat version of the best-selling SUV, was spotted on its way to showrooms ahead of the launch expected for “this Fall.”
On Monday, Tesla released a new teaser on the model, saying it is coming soon. “The Model Y L is about to debut, stay tuned,” the company wrote on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The model was launched earlier on Tuesday in the world’s largest EV market, with a starting price of 339,000 yuan, equivalent to $46,700 — just 10,000 yuan above the standard Model Y, which is priced from 263,500 yuan ($36,700).
Deliveries are set to start in September.
The three-rowed SUV is set to compete with other models in the six-seat segment, such as Li Auto‘s Li i8 and the Onvo L90, which were both launched in late July.
The company produces its most affordable Model Y and Model 3 in the Shanghai Gigafactory — unlike the Model S and Model X, for which all remaining inventory units have sold out.
According to insurance registration data, the Model Y accounted for 8,800 of the total vehicles sold last week by Tesla. It remained the best-selling SUV in the market.
The Model 3, for which sales had jumped from August 4 to 10, saw its registrations reach 5,200 units last week.
The sedan outperformed, for the first time since the beginning of the year, weekly sales of its direct competitor, Xiaomi‘s SU7, which accounted for 3,600 vehicle registrations from August 11 to 17.
The SU7 was launched in late March last year, and outsold the Tesla sedan in monthly sales for the first time in December — nearly months after its debut.
Xiaomi registered 3,600 YU7s last week. The brand’s second model was launched in late June and its standard version starts 10,000 yuan lower than the refreshed Model Y.
As China’s tech giant ramps up production of the new model, delivery waiting times have reached 59 weeks.
Tesla ranked third among new energy vehicle brands in China last week, after BYD, which sold 65,200 hybrid and fully electric vehicles in the country, and Geely Galaxy’s 25,800 units.
