Tesla sold 40,485 vehicles in China in October, the lowest since April, as exports from its Shanghai factory rose 72.41 percent from September.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) deliveries in China slipped last month, as exports from its Shanghai plant increased.

Tesla China sold 68,280 vehicles in October, including 27,795 exported, data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed.

That means the US electric vehicle (EV) maker sold 40,485 vehicles in China in October, the lowest since April, CnEVPost's calculations show.

That's up 41.43 percent from 28,626 vehicles in the same period last year, but down 43.93 percent from 72,200 in September.

In the January-October period, Tesla sold 500,685 vehicles in China, surpassing the 500,000-unit mark, up 8.29 percent from a year earlier.

Tesla has a factory in Shanghai that produces the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover, both for deliveries to local customers and as an export hub for it.

Tesla's pattern is to produce cars for export in the first half of the quarter and for the local market in the second half, it previously said.

October marked the start of the fourth quarter, which saw Tesla dedicate more vehicles to exports.

Notably, Tesla China's overall sales in October that included exports were down 5.32 percent from 72,115 in the same month last year, and down 22.69 percent from 88,321 vehicles in September.

Exports from Tesla's Shanghai plant in October decreased 36.09 percent from 43,489 in the same month last year but increased 72.41 percent from 16,121 in September.

Of Tesla China's October sales including exports, Model Y was 42,265 units, contributing 61.90 percent of sales. This is a 10.39 percent decrease from 47,164 in the same month last year and a 17.37 percent decrease from 51,152 in September.

Model 3 sales, including exports, amounted to 26,015 units, contributing to 38.10 percent of Tesla China's October sales. That's up 4.26 percent from 24,951 a year ago but down 30.01 percent from 37,169 in September.

Retail sales figures for the Model 3 and Model Y in China in October are not yet available.

Across the whole sector, retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China reached a record 1.2 million units in October, up 56.7 percent from a year ago and up 6.4 percent from September.

Retail sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in China were 673,000 units in October, accounting for 56.3 percent of all NEV retail sales, which was up 36.79 percent year-on-year and up 4.50 percent from September.

This means that Tesla's share of the Chinese NEV market was 3.39 percent in October, down from 6.43 percent in September and down from 3.73 percent a year earlier, CnEVPost calculations show.

In China's BEV market, Tesla's share was 6.02 percent in October, down from 11.21 percent in September, but up from 5.78 percent a year earlier.

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