• Tesla's retail sales in China totaled 71,525 units in September, marking the second-highest monthly figure this year with a year-on-year decline narrowing to 0.93 percent.
• This still represents Tesla's seventh month of year-on-year retail sales decline in China this year.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) saw further improvement in its domestic Chinese market sales last month, though it still fell short of last year's level.

The US electric vehicle (EV) maker sold 71,525 vehicles in China in September, its second-highest monthly figure this year, trailing only March's 74,127 units, according to data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

This narrowed Tesla's year-on-year retail sales decline in China to 0.93 percent, representing a 25.15 percent increase from August, when Tesla's China retail sales fell 9.93 percent year-on-year.

Notably, this still marks Tesla's seventh month of year-on-year retail sales decline in China this year. From January to September, it only saw year-on-year growth in domestic China sales during March and June.

Tesla operates a factory in Shanghai producing the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover, serving both domestic customers and export markets.

The facility exported 19,287 vehicles in September, up 19.64 percent year-on-year but down 25.93 percent from August.

Tesla previously said its production pattern prioritizes export vehicles in the first half of the quarter and domestic models in the latter half.

China's September retail sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 1,296,000 units, up 15.5 percent year-on-year and up 16.2 percent month-on-month, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) retail sales in September totaled 826,000 units, rising 28.5 percent year-on-year and up 19.8 percent month-on-month.

This indicates Tesla's share of China's NEV market reached 5.52 percent in September, up from 5.19 percent in August. Its share of China's BEV market stood at 8.66 percent in September, higher than August's 8.33 percent.

Including exports, Tesla China's wholesale sales totaled 90,812 units in September, marking a 2.82 percent year-on-year increase and a 9.16 percent rise from August.

Model Y wholesale sales reached 59,907 units in September, up 17.12 percent year-on-year and up 1.73 percent month-on-month.

Model 3 wholesale sales totaled 30,905 units in September, down 16.85 percent year-on-year but up 27.16 percent month-on-month.

Sales figures for these two models in China's domestic market are not yet available.

In the third quarter, Tesla's retail sales in China totaled 169,294 vehicles, marking a 6.92 percent year-on-year decline.

This represents Tesla's second consecutive quarterly sales drop in China following a 11.72 percent year-on-year decline in the second quarter, though it still reflects a 31.44 percent increase compared to the second quarter.

In the third quarter, Tesla's China market sales contributed 34.06 percent of its global deliveries of 497,099 units, higher than the 33.53 percent in the second quarter, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

Year-to-date, Tesla's retail sales in China came in at 432,704 units, down 5.97 percent year-on-year.