Tesla delivered a record number of EVs in Q1, amid supply-chain struggles

Tesla reported Saturday that it produced and delivered more than 300,000 vehicles, globally, in the first quarter of 2022.

Tesla’s quarterly totals of 305,407 vehicles produced and 310,048 vehicles delivered included just 14,724 combined Model S and Model X vehicles delivered and 14,218 of those models produced. That left, for Model 3 and Model Y, combined, 295,324 delivered and 305,407 made. 

That’s down slightly from the 305,840 vehicles it produced in Q4 2021, but above that quarter in deliveries—to a new quarterly delivery record. And it’s up nearly 70% from Q1 2021. 

It noted that 17% of Model S and X are being leased, whereas just 3% of Model 3 and Y are leased. 

The all-electric automaker has raised its prices several times in the past several months—on top of massive price hikes in 2021 that left its Model Y and Model 3 far from the relatively affordable models they were originally billed as. Its most affordable model for the U.S. market, the base Tesla Model 3 with an LFP battery pack, starts at $48,190. 

Tesla doesn’t break down production, deliveries, or leasing ratio by market, and this marked the first quarter in which it was producing vehicles on three continents. The company claimed to have ramped up production at its factory near Berlin, Germany, in the previous quarter but delivered its first 30 Model Y vehicles to customers in March. Likewise, Tesla confirmed that production of Model Y started in late 2021 at its Texas plant, where a grand opening party is set to be held Thursday, April 7.

Meanwhile, it’s temporarily halted production at its Shanghai plant, due to a government-imposed lockdown. Last April, CEO Musk called California’s stay-at-home orders during a covid surge “fascist” and argued that it was limiting freedom. Tesla is an exception in China in that it is allowed to operate its own factory without a local partner.

2022 Tesla Model 3

The Tesla results were among many sales updates that rolled in on Friday and Saturday, closing out a difficult quarter as most automakers continued to encounter supply-chain and production issues. 

Tesla aside, still waiting for the ramp-up

GM reported sales for the quarter. In the U.S., it delivered just 457 electric vehicles in the first quarter of 2022—including 358 Bolt EV and EUV models and 99 Hummer EVs (bringing the total of Hummer EVs to 100 including the 1 delivered in 2021). 

That came amid pauses in Chevy Bolt EV production, the ramp-up for Hummer EV production, and other EVs including the Cadillac Lyriq due soon. 

2022 GMC Hummer EV VIN 001 rolls off the assembly line

Among other brands delivering EVs, Audi also reported sales of its EVs down significantly in the first quarter, along with overall sales—although it still hadn’t yet started deliveries of its more mass-market model, the Q4 E-Tron. BMW, with its iX and i4 just starting to arrive for deliveries at the end of the quarter, reported slightly higher sales for the quarter, versus the same time last year. 

But some other brands showed evidence of being on a rebound. Hyundai in the U.S. reported a 14% increase in overall sales for Q1 2022 versus Q1 2022, with a 241% increase in electrified sales including an all-time sales record for Elantra Hybrid. Kia reported 5% lower sales for the quarter versus the same time last year, but it’s already delivered a noteworthy 5,281 EV6 models, started arriving in the last days of January. 

2022 Kia EV6

EV sales for Ford and VW will likely be up significantly for the quarter, but totals hadn’t yet been released at the time of writing. We’ll update this piece when they’re released.