Tesla Sales Triple For China Model 3 Vehicle In May

New figures show that Tesla Inc (TSLA) sold 11,095 Shanghai-made Model 3 vehicles in China in May, reports Reuters.

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This is more than triple the volume seen in April, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The CPCA previously revealed that the electric-vehicle maker sold 3,635 vehicles in April- a dramatic 64% drop from the 10,160 units sold in March.

Notably, CPCA uses a different counting method than Tesla’s deliveries.

Shares in Tesla have now more than doubled on a year-to-date basis, and are currently trading up 2% in Monday’s pre-market trading.

With shares at such high levels, analysts are taking a cautious stance on Tesla stock. The Hold analyst consensus is made up of 9 recent buy ratings, 9 holds and 10 sells. (See Tesla’s stock analysis on TipRanks)

Meanwhile the average analyst price target stands at $619, indicating 30% downside potential lies ahead.

Argus Research’s Bill Selesky recently reiterated his hold rating after Tesla slashed prices by about 6% on its Model S, Model X and Model 3 in North America and its Model S and Model X in China.

The analyst stated “Due to the pandemic, we have lowered our 2020 vehicle delivery forecast by 19% to 409,000. We are also concerned about the potential impact of tensions between the U.S. and China on Tesla’s manufacturing facilities in Shanghai, as we had expected China to account for 30% of production volume in 2020, up from 13% in 2019”.

Similarly Wedbush analyst Dan Ives is also staying on the sidelines, with a price target of $800 (10% downside potential).

According to Ives, “the China growth story is worth $300 per share to Tesla as this EV penetration is set to ramp significantly over the next 12 to 18 months in a more normalized backdrop.”