According to insurance registration data, Tesla's weekly deliveries in China have dropped to an alarmingly low level, despite that Shanghai Gigafactory has already fully ramped up production of the refreshed Model Y “Juniper”.

Even with aggressive 5-year interest-free financing purchase incentives, Tesla is struggling to gain momentum as of late as its local peers introduce better and more affordable EVs every week.

Through week 19 of 2025, from May 5-11, Tesla delivered only 3,070 vehicles in China, the second worst week of the year. The worst week was through January 27 to February 2, during Chinese New Year.

China and the U.S. are Tesla's two most critical markets. Despite declining profits, Tesla still relies on these regions for revenue. However, profitability in China remains low, as over 90% of its deliveries come from the cheaper rear-wheel-drive Model 3 and Model Y, which often require zero-interest financing incentives to sell.

Nevertheless, China remains vital for Tesla because its Shanghai Gigafactory serves as an export hub for markets like Europe.

While Tesla's lower domestic deliveries in China can sometimes be attributed to a focus on exports, recent data shows that its export numbers are also declining.

Despite Tesla's slowdown, China's EV market continues to thrive, driven by companies like BYD, SAIC, and Geely.

In an effort to bolster sales, Tesla has extended its zero-interest financing promotion until June 30 (the end of second quarter).

Additionally, the latest figures reveal that Tesla's retail sales in China for April totaled just 28,731 units, down 8.6% year-over-year and a staggering 62.1% drop from March's 78,828 units.

This marks the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year decline. The Model Y, Tesla's best-selling model, saw only 19,984 deliveries in April—a 24% decrease from the 26,356 units sold in the same month last year, marking its worst monthly performance since 2023.

Notably, while China's overall pure EV market grew 38% year-over-year in April to 559,000 units, Tesla's market share shrank to just 5.1%, down 11.5 percentage points from the previous month.

In January 2025, Tesla launched the refreshed Model Y, but market feedback suggests that the facelift missed the mark.

Despite zero-interest financing, demand remains weak, and Tesla's market share in China is gradually being eroded by domestic brands.

For example, BYD sold 372,600 vehicles in April, up 19.4% year-over-year, while emerging NEV brands like Leapmotor, Xpeng, and NIO also posted strong growth.

In fact, even the Model Y “contender” Onvo L60 exceeded Model Y’s sales last week, delivering 1,700 units compared to 1,300 Model Y.