Tesla's July China-made EV sales rise 37.8% y/y

BEIJING, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Tesla's ‌China-made electric ​vehicle ​sales rose 37.8% in July from a year earlier, marking the ninth straight month of growth ‌as the U.S. automaker reports a mixed performance across ⁠its markets.

Sales of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from its ‌Shanghai plant, including exports to ‌Europe and other markets, totalled 93,579 units last month, up 5.0% from June, data from the China Passenger ​Car Association showed on Tuesday.

Tesla posted mixed July registration results across Europe even with the broader continental EV ⁠market staging a rebound, with strong gains in France and Denmark outweighed by sharp declines ​in Norway and Sweden.

Competition from Chinese EV makers continues to mount, with BYD, Tesla's biggest rival, ​posting higher global sales for a ‌third straight month in July, helped by robust exports, particularly to Europe.

While CEO Elon Musk ⁠dismissed as "fake news" a report that the company was weighing a spin-off or sale of its China business ahead of a ⁠potential merger with firm SpaceX, the speculation underscores investor concerns over Tesla's ​exposure to the country, where about 95% of its components are sourced locally.

Steve Greenfield, founder of U.S.-based automotive venture capital firm Automotive Ventures, ‌warned that even speculation about a China separation could start hurting Tesla.

"Now the genie is ‌out of the bottle...No matter how this plays out, there'll ⁠be a negative effect ‌on Tesla's sales ​in China.," he said.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Shi Bu and Ju-min Park; Editing by Kirsten ‌Donovan)

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