If Tesla was hoping that decent sales in China might boost the company's fast-diminishing profits, it was a forlorn hope. For the second month in a row, the automaker has experienced a year-on-year decrease in sales in China.
According to Reuters, Tesla's sales dropped by 4 percent in August compared to the same month in 2024. That's not quite as dire as July, where it saw Chinese sales decrease by 8.4 percent. Much of Tesla's Shanghai factory's slack was taken up by exporting EVs to other markets.
Some of Tesla's stiffest competition in China has come from BYD, but the Chinese automaker has started to experience its own struggles at home, too. Yesterday, BYD reported a 30 percent drop in quarterly profits, in part thanks to the Chinese government telling automakers at the start of the summer that their price war was over.
Things look better for BYD in Europe, where it is capitalizing on the ongoing rejection of Tesla by European car-buyers. Last week, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association figures showed a 40 percent drop in Tesla sales in July compared to the same month last year, eroding Tesla's market share to 0.7 percent within the European Union.