The delivery of Shanghai-manufactured electric vehicles (EVs) by Tesla rose by almost 30% in May, reports the South China Morning Post. The increase came as backlogs due to strong bookings in the first quarter separated Tesla from the local competitors looking to overtake the California-based carmaker in the world’s largest vehicle market.
Quoting data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the SCMP reports that the company’s Shanghai Gigafactory last month delivered 33,463 of its Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs, compared with 25,843 units sold in April. The data did not break down Tesla’s sales by models.
The official delivery data stood in stark contrast to the report last week by The Information news website that Tesla’s May deliveries of Shanghai-made models had plummeted to 9,800 units. The bellwether EV maker had suffered negative publicity in China from recalls and a number of missteps over its on-board cameras and data privacy.