On June 3, 2025, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced that Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y vehicles were included in a government-backed campaign to promote electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid sales in rural areas, marking their debut in this initiative, which has been running since at least 2020.
The campaign features 124 EV and hybrid models, aimed at boosting sustainable transportation in less urban regions of China, the world’s largest auto market. BYD, a leading Chinese automaker, continues to dominate the list, with its best-selling models retained from last year’s catalog of 99 vehicles.
This move highlights China’s push to expand EV adoption in rural areas, where infrastructure is less developed, as part of its broader carbon emission reduction goals.
Tesla’s inclusion in the campaign is significant, as it opens access to China’s vast rural market and potential government subsidies, tax breaks, or other incentives, which could help Tesla compete against local giants like BYD.
However, Tesla faces intense competition in China, where its sales have been declining. In 2024, Tesla’s China-made EV sales fell 6% year-on-year in April, and its market share was only 6.1%, compared to BYD’s 32% in the new energy vehicle (NEV) market, which includes hybrids.
