SIMIC

The US-based maker of electric vehicles (EV) shipped a total of 65,814 cars from its factory in China's financial hub last month, with the bulk of those - 65,754 - going to the domestic market.

The total number of EVs produced and delivered locally by Tesla in China in March was the highest since December, despite a six-day plant shutdown caused by production snarls and Covid disruptions.

Overall passenger vehicle sales in China slid 10.9 per cent year on year in March to 1.61 million units, the PCA data show. Month-to-month, sales rose 25.3 per cent. New-energy vehicle deliveries in China jumped 137.6 per cent year on year to 445,000 units.

"Despite the global lithium price hike and chip shortage, China's local OEMs achieved a great performance with their strong capability and government coordination," said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the trade body, adding that China's share of the global auto market reached a record 36 per cent in the first two months of the year.