(Yicai Global) July 12 -- US electric carmaker Tesla has closed its repair shop in the Chinese city of Suzhou following a fire at the facility. The cause of the July 8 blaze is still under investigation, a Tesla insider told Yicai Global, adding that a number of vehicles were affected.

The facility was a directly run sheet metal spraying center used to repair external damage to cars. Since the end of last year, Tesla has been speeding up the opening of these self-operated centers across the Chinese mainland. It has 148 authorized sheet metal spraying centers in the country, but it only runs 18 directly, according to its website.

Tesla’s sales recovered quickly after the Covid-19 outbreak. The carmaker sold nearly 79,000 units in China last month, a 138 percent jump on a year earlier, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. Deliveries soared 177 percent to a record 77,938 over the five months. Tesla handed over 52,557 Model Ys last month, up 2.5 times from a year ago.

In the first five months of 2022, Tesla had the third-biggest share of the Chinese market for electric vehicles, according to data compiler EV Volumes.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione