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.

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.”