Tesla (TSLA 0.15%) is seeing demand in China increase, with more of its cars being registered in the country last month.
Citing data from China Automotive Information Net, the state-backed agency, Reuters reported 11,364 Tesla vehicles were registered in May, up 150%, and marking the highest number of registrations in a single month. In April 4,633 Tesla vehicles were registered in greater China, noted Reuters.
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Meanwhile last week the China Passenger Car Association released sales data showing Tesla sold 11,095 Model 3 Sedans during May and is leading in the electric vehicle market in China. Its lead may not last forever as other vehicle manufacturers go after the EV market in China. Tesla was able to surpass local EV carmaker NIO and Daimler in terms of sales during May, noted Bloomberg. China is an important growth market for Tesla and other green car makers.
The good news out of China wasn’t enough to lift shares Monday as investors digested a pair of downgrades late last week by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which both reduced their ratings on Tesla, pointing to a tech stock that they think is now too richly valued.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas raised concerns about the China market for one reason for the downgrade. "We believe any potential deterioration of relations with China could disproportionately impact Tesla vs. other stocks within our coverage," wrote the analyst in the note, covered by TheStreet.com. Jonas noted that other big car markets including Ford and General Motors have raised their investments in electric vehicles as well.
