Tesla's China-made EV sales see first rise in 9 months

BEIJING, July 2 (Reuters): Tesla's sales of its China-made electric vehicles edged up 0.8 per cent in June from a year earlier, snapping an eight-month losing streak, but they continued to fall on a quarterly basis in the face of lower-cost new models from its Chinese rivals.

Deliveries of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles made in its Shanghai factory, including both China sales and exports to Europe and other markets, rose 16.1 per cent from May to 71,599 units, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Wednesday.

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By comparison, global car sales for BYD, Tesla's biggest Chinese rival, increased 11 per cent year-on-year to 377,628 units last month.

Tesla recorded the fastest-ever model ramp-up with

just six weeks to full production of the refreshed Model Y in its largest manufacturing hub in Shanghai earlier this year.

But its sales in China and Europe have been cooling and mounting pressures from rivals and the political backlash against CEO Elon Musk are dragging on demand.