Tesla’s electric-vehicle production in Shanghai

Electric vehicles may be key to the climate transition, but for now their production is complicated by international trade disputes.

The European Union recently unveiled a five-year tariff of up to 36% on Chinese-made electric vehicles. However, U.S.-based Tesla, which makes cars in China for export to Europe, will be subject to a tariff of only 9% after the EU deemed Elon Musk’s company a lesser beneficiary of state subsidies.

Data on sales and production from Tesla’s Shanghai “Gigafactory” is available on CEIC.

The Model Y, a small, hatchback SUV, is the top-selling EV in the U.S. The Model 3, a sedan, is smaller and sportier and was Tesla’s first mass-market vehicle.

As our chart shows, Tesla makes about twice as many Model Y vehicles as Model 3s in China. But Model Y has slipped below 2023’s growth pace; momentum for the Model 3 is stronger.

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