Tesla’s (TSLA) vehicle deliveries rose above analysts’ expectations in the fourth quarter and jumped on a sequential basis, while Wedbush Securities said the electric vehicle maker likely notched a record quarter in China.
The company said Tuesday it delivered 484,507 vehicles for the December quarter, compared with projections on Visible Alpha for about 481,300 units. It produced about 494,989 vehicles during the quarter, above the forecast for 474,400 units.
“Tesla announced solid deliveries,” Wedbush analysts including Daniel Ives said in a note reiterating an outperform rating and a $350 price target on the stock.
While production was in line with Wedbush’s expectations, some analysts were expecting north of 500,000, “showing strong inventory controls in the quarter,” Ives said.
Tesla reported 461,538 deliveries of the Model 3 and Model Y during the quarter, which the brokerage called strong. “China [was] a clear area of success this quarter in what we believe was a record quarter in mainland China,” Ives wrote. Deliveries of all other models came in at 22,969.
In the previous three-month period, Tesla delivered 435,059 vehicles and produced 430,488, both of which were below expectations. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company delivered 405,278 units with production of 439,701 vehicles.
For all of 2023, vehicle deliveries grew 38% year over year to 1.81 million while production advanced 35% to 1.85 million, the automaker said. Tesla in October expected to produce around 1.8 million vehicles during 2023. Wedbush said the full-year delivery number was “a major achievement in a choppy macro for EVs.” Tesla will post its fourth-quarter financial results on Jan. 24.
“This was an important quarter for Tesla to show strong deliveries with clear momentum into 2024 as demand has upticked since (the third quarter) based on all our global checks,” Ives said. “Pricing was stable and actually increased in China throughout the quarter as the price war in China has finally hit a calm period.”