By Ben Otto


Shipments by Tesla and other electric vehicle makers tumbled in China in February, hurt by weaker demand during the Lunar New Year holiday and rising competition in the world's second largest economy.

Tesla shares slid 7.2% on the news in Monday trading, dragging year-to-date losses to 24%.

The U.S. electric vehicle maker shipped 60,365 China-made vehicles during the month, its lowest monthly reading since late 2022, preliminary data from the China Passenger Car Association showed Monday. That marked a decline from 71,447 units in January and 94,139 in December.

Warren Buffett-backed BYD, the Chinese auto maker that overtook Tesla as the world's top seller of electric vehicles last quarter, saw its sales fall to 121,748 vehicles in February from 201,493 a month earlier. EV sales by Chinese companies Huawei-backed Seres and Li Auto also fell sequentially.

Across the industry, total EV sales fell 9% on year -- and 34% on-month -- to about 450,000 units in February, the CPCA said. It attributed the decline to fewer working days in February and holiday closures, and said that overall, the industry remained healthy amid declining levels of inventory.

Vehicle sales typically slow during the Lunar New Year holiday, but Tesla has also been facing pressure from heightened competition and industry price cuts amid slowing industry sales and overcapacity in the world's largest market for electric vehicles.

Last week, Tesla rolled out fresh incentives to boost demand, offering discounts on its existing inventory of its rear-wheel drive Model 3 and Model Y variants. Those offers came on the heels of fresh price cuts by BYD, which last month also launched a $233,000 sports car to compete at the premium end of the market.


Write to Ben Otto at ben.otto@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-05-24 0606ET