Tesla deliveries fall with temporary closure of China factory

NEW YORK: Tesla's deliveries of electric vehicles fell in the second quarter compared to the previous one due mainly to a weeks-long closure of its factory in China, the company said Saturday (Jul 2).

Elon Musk's enterprise delivered 254,695 vehicles from April to June, it said in a statement.

That's 27 percent more than the same period a year ago but down 18 percent from the January-to-March quarter of 2022 and the first such decline in more than two years.

This marks a disappointment for a company that says it is posting strong growth, touting the opening of two new factories this year, in Germany and Texas.

The drop in deliveries was bigger than that anticipated by analysts, who had expected 264,000 vehicles to be handed over to buyers, according to FactSet, a financial data and software company.

Tesla warned in April that supply chain snarls hitting the auto industry in general would keep disrupting the company's production until the end of the year.

Still, it delivered a record number of cars in the first quarter of 2022.

But in the second quarter Tesla had to grapple with the closure of its Shanghai factory for several weeks because of strict lockdown measures in China due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

In its statement Saturday the company said it produced 258,000 vehicles in the second quarter "despite ongoing supply chain challenges and factory shutdowns beyond our control."

It also said June was the highest vehicle production month in Tesla's history.

Elsewhere in the industry, General Motors and Toyota saw their second quarter sales in the United States drop by 15 percent and 23 percent respectively, compared to the same period in 2021.