(Yicai Global) May 12 -- Tesla’s sales in China, the US electric carmaker’s second-biggest market, should pick up by next month after a characteristic drop last month, according to Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association.

Tesla’s sales are always smaller at the start of each quarter than at the end of one, Cui told Yicai Global.

The California-based company sold under 25,850 vehicles in China in April, down 27 percent from a month earlier, according to CPCA data released yesterday. The industry group’s figures also showed that total sales of electric cars in the country nearly tripled last month from a year earlier to 163,000.

Shares of Tesla [NASDAQ: TLSA] fell 1.9 percent in New York yesterday to close at USD617.20 each. After reaching a record high of USD900.40 in late January, the stock has slumped by more than 30 percent.

Driven by robust Chinese demand, Tesla had strong first-quarter earnings. Net profit surged to a quarterly record of USD438 million in the three months ended March 31, while revenue soared 74 percent to USD10.4 billion. But concerns about quality have popped up in China after a protest by Tesla car users at last month’s international auto show in Shanghai over alleged brake failures. 

The matter seems to be isolated to China, Cui said, adding that similar braking issues have not been reported in other markets.

China’s auto sales could be hampered this month by the ongoing global chip shortage, the CPCA said yesterday. In its earnings report, Tesla said it dealt with the shortage in the first quarter by “pivoting extremely quickly to new microcontrollers, while simultaneously developing firmware for new chips made by new suppliers.”

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi