(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. shipments from its Shanghai factory dropped year-on-year in April even as the overall market for new-energy cars grew, another sign of the pressure Elon Musk’s company is under in China’s hyper competitive automobile sector.

Tesla’s April deliveries, which includes cars for sale domestically as well as for export, came in at 62,167 units, down 18% from April 2023, preliminary data from China’s Passenger Car Association released Tuesday showed.

More broadly, new-energy passenger vehicle wholesale deliveries were estimated at 800,000 units, up 33% year-on-year, evidence price cuts and government support are once again enticing consumers.

The preliminary PCA data mirrors strong individual reports from some of China’s top EV brands. 

Nio Inc. said April deliveries more than doubled from a year earlier to 15,620 vehicles while BYD Co.’s sales jumped 49% to 312,048 passenger vehicles. Li Auto Inc., despite minor growth of 0.4% from last April, delivered 25,787 vehicles. 

Tech-related offerings from home-grown upstarts are also proving a hit with automobile consumers. 

Xiaomi Corp. has received more than 76,000 orders for its SU7 EV, its Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun said last week. Aito and Luxeed, the car brands that use some software from Huawei Technologies Co., meanwhile posted combined sales of 29,632 cars.

Tesla CEO Musk visited China in a surprise trip in late April and gained in-principle approval from government officials to deploy the company’s driver-assistance system — a potentially much-needed sales and revenue boost for the automaker.

Read more: Tesla Soars on Tentative China Approval for Driving System 

An EV price war that’s been running since late 2022 shows little sign of letting up this year, with Tesla and Li Auto announcing discounts late in April to drum up sales. The EV sector is also set to play a major role in President Xi Jinping’s plan to boost consumption and accelerate economic growth, with the government offering a one-time subsidy of as much as 10,000 yuan ($1,390) to drivers who trade in their old vehicles for a newer model.

--With assistance from Danny Lee.

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