Photo taken on Oct. 26, 2020 shows the Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicles at its gigafactory in Shanghai, east China. Photo: Xinhua

The China Passenger Car Association said vehicle sales of Tesla in March reached 35,478 units, the highest monthly record in China.

In detail, the Model 3 sales reached 25,327, an increase of 85 percent from the previous month, the best-ever monthly sales of this model in the Chinese market. 

The sales of the recently launched Model Y exceeded 10,000 for the first time in a single month, reaching 10,151 units, an increase of 119 percent from the previous month.

The company said in a note sent to the Global Times that as the total production capacity of the Shanghai Gigafactory continues to increase, sales will continue to grow, adding that the Model Y has become a new pillar of Tesla's sales. 

The data is also in line with the nation's new energy vehicle (NEV) sales. China's March sales of NEV witnessed a year-on-year increase of 238.9 percent, and in the first quarter hit 515,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 279.6 percent. 

Tesla is estimated to have sold 137,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in China in 2020, as the operation of its Gigafactory in Shanghai made its pricing more competitive on the market, China's Tianfeng Securities reported. China is now the fastest-growing market for Tesla, while the US remains its largest, with 206,000 EVs shipped last year.

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk said China is likely to be the electric vehicle brand's biggest market in the long term, China Central Television reported recently.