Tesla China on Tuesday posted a video on its official social media account boasting that more than 95 percent of the parts used in Model 3 and new Model Y electric vehicles (EVs) produced by its Shanghai Gigafactory came from local suppliers.
In the video, Tesla also said it is committed to developing products for the global market, while building up localized supply chains. Notably, it praised China's capability in intelligent manufacturing.
The video appears to serve as a promotional push after Tesla concluded a month-long sales promotion campaign in April, offering favorable financing options for Model 3 and Model Y buyers, including zero- or low-interest loans and discounts on charging equipment.
The move shows great importance the US EV maker attaches to the Chinese market, which plays a critical role in supporting Tesla's global performance, Wu Shuocheng, a veteran automobile industry analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting the advantages of Tesla's localized supply chains, including lower risks and costs, especially amid high tariffs imposed by the US.
Tesla's move also comes as it faces declining sales in markets such as Europe. The company on April 2 reported 336,681 vehicle deliveries in the first quarter of 2025, a 13 percent decline from a year earlier, according to its earnings report. Meanwhile, Tesla's new car sales in the UK and Germany plummeted to the lowest levels in over two years in April, falling 62 percent and 46 percent year-on-year, respectively, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Against such a backdrop, China's powerful and intelligent manufacturing sector as well as resilient industrial chain are crucial for Tesla to ensure output and deliveries in both the Chinese and global markets, counteract its global decline trend, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"Given the difficulty of reversing market trends in the US and Europe, these types of promotional campaigns are designed to keep Chinese consumers confident in Tesla," Lü said, referring to Tesla's video about localization on Tuesday.
Notably, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed that in March, Tesla's retail sales in China reached 74,127 units, an 18.8 percent year-on-year increase. During the same period, Tesla's retail market share in China reached 7.5 percent, the highest since April 2024.
Tesla's quarterly report showed that its Shanghai plant's current installed annual vehicle capacity has surpassed 950,000, the largest across Tesla's global manufacturing plant. On April 15, a total of 3,499 Tesla EVs, including 3,015 new Model Ys made at the Shanghai Gigafactory, were loaded onto a roll-on/roll-off ship in Shanghai, marking the factory's first overseas batch delivery of the new Model Y, Shanghai local media outlet thepaper.cn reported.
In addition to EV production, Tesla in February launched production at its Megafactory in Shanghai, marking a significant expansion of the company's presence in China. And then just over a month after the production launch, the Megafactory exported its first batch of Megapack energy-storage batteries, according to Xinhua.
