11,949 Tesla vehicles were registered in China in April, down from a record 34,714 in March, Bloomberg reports. Coupled with protests at the Shanghai auto show and reported EV crashes, the slowdowns are a blow to Tesla in its quest to make China its major production center.
A Tesla representative links the slump in China’s car registrations to a two-week assembly line adjustment for its model Y SUV and rising export volume.
China’s Passenger Car Association data revealed that 25,845 Tesla vehicles were sold in April, down from March’s 35,478.
Demand for Tesla cars in Europe saw 14,174 units of those sold in April exported to the continent.
The decline in Tesla’s car registrations in China comes when the EV maker has been asked to comply with local laws and respect Chinese consumers.
Crashes involving Tesla cars have also raised scrutiny against the EV maker.
Tesla stock is currently declining. TSLA: NASDAQ is down 3.66%.
