Tesla has recorded its first quarterly decline in deliveries since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic erupted, as the US automaker faces growing competition in the electric vehicle market.
The company led by tech billionaire Elon Musk delivered 386,810 of its electric cars to customers between January and March, according to its figures released on Tuesday.
In the same quarter of the previous year the number was almost 423,000. Analysts had expected an average increase to just over 449,000 deliveries in the first quarter of 2024.
Although Tesla deliveries have increased significantly in recent years, there are doubts about the pace of growth. US car buyers have increasingly turned to combustion and hybrid vehicles, while in China Tesla is facing more competition from domestic manufacturers.
Nevertheless, Tesla reclaimed the top spot in the global electric car business from Chinese manufacturer BYD. BYD delivered 300,000 battery-powered vehicles in the first quarter of the year. BYD had overtaken Tesla in the final quarter of 2023, stunning the industry.
Tesla has recently had to temporarily suspend production at its German factory at Grünheide near Berlin, initially due to supply bottlenecks for components caused by the diversion of ships following attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, and then as a result of an arson attack on the plant's power supply.
Meanwhile, production at the company's large plant in Freemont, California was switched to a newer version of the best-selling Model 3. A total of 433,371 vehicles were built, Tesla said on Tuesday. In the same quarter of the previous year, the figure was 440,808.
"Decline in volumes was partially due to the early phase of the production ramp of the updated Model 3 at our Fremont factory and factory shutdowns resulting from shipping diversions caused by the Red Sea conflict and an arson attack at Gigafactory Berlin," the company said on Tuesday.
