U.S. automaker Tesla's China made green cars sales tumpled in September 11% year-on-year
China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) announced that U.S. automaker Tesla sold mors than 74 thousand China made green cars or electric vehicles (EVs) in September، a 10.9% decrease from a year earlier، including sales of China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars were down 12.0% from a month earlier، while Chinese rival BYD with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and petrol-electric hybrid models، saw passenger vehicle deliveries grow 42.8% to about 287 thousand last month، fromnearly 201 thousand in September last year.
Reuters agency reported that U.S. automaker Tesla، along with its China challengers، is bracing for a revival in consumer sentiment، buoyed by deeper discounts and tax breaks for green cars or electric vehicles amid signs of the economy stabilising.
Tesla doubled its China green cars
The American company Tesla missed market estimates for third-quarter global deliveries green cars or electric vehicles on Oct. 2 as planned upgrades at its factories to roll out a newer version of the Model 3 mass-market sedan forced production halts.
The U.S. automaker Tesla، which ships more China made cars for exports at the beginning of each quarter while focusing on domestic deliveries at the end، almost doubled its China green cars or electric vehicles، EV، share from July to August and Tesla's deliveries of China-made vehicles hit a record 247 thousand in the second quarter.
Tesla unveiled in September a restyled Model 3
The U.S. automaker Tesla unveiled in September a restyled Model 3 with a starting price of 259.9 thousand yuan in China، 12% higher than the previous، and would start delivering in the fourth quarter، while its Chinese rival Xpeng also launched a revamped G9 SUV to sell from 263.9 thousand yuan، 15% lower than the previous.
Tesla، the largest exporter of China-made green cars EVs، is also facing a probe by the European Commission into subsidies for battery-powered cars from China، along with Renault and other Chinese automakers.
Tesla missed market estimates for third-quarter deliveries of green cars
The U.S. automaker Tesla missed market estimates for third-quarter deliveries of green cars as planned upgrades at its factories to roll out a newer version of the Model 3 mass-market sedan forced production halts، while some analysts believe the upgrades could spark a rebound in deliveries in the fourth quarter by allowing Tesla to refresh its line-up with models that could compete better with offerings from U.S. rivals such as Ford and BYD in China.
Deliveries of the updated and higher-priced Tesla green cars Model 3 compact sedan are expected to start in the fourth quarter، while a Cybertruck launch event is also planned later this year but the electric-vehicle maker Tesla، which will report quarterly results on Oct. 18، handed over 435 thousand vehicles in the three months to Sept. 30، down nearly 7% from the preceding quarter، but retained its target to deliver 1.8 million vehicles this year.
Tesla cut prices aggressively of green cars to counter the effect of a slowing EV market
Tesla has also been cutting prices aggressively of green cars to counter the effect of a slowing EV market، while fending off competition from upstarts and legacy players and in the third quarter، Tesla cut prices of its premium Model S and Model X cars by as much as 21% in main markets China and the United States as well as it also boosted discounts on Model 3 and Model Y in the United States، while cutting prices of Model Y and offering other incentives in China.
Tesla is going to keep the pressure up on their competitors and could cut prices of green cars even further as the U.S. automaker Tesla produced 430 thousand and 488 vehicles in the third quarter، versus 479 thousand and 700 green cars in the previous three-month period.
Tesla remains a dominant force in the US green cars market
While Tesla remains a dominant force in the US green cars، EV، market for 2023، there is an increasing demand for a wider range of EV options to satisfy the growing consumer interest in electric vehicles، meanwhile، electric-pickup maker Rivian Automotive reported third-quarter deliveries above analysts' estimates and reaffirmed its annual production target of 52 thousand vehicles.
Deliveries of Tesla's premium green vehicles، Model S and Model X، rose to about 16 thousand units in the third quarter، their deliveries، however، account for just about 4% of the total number، although Tesla cuts US prices of Model 3، Y in push to meet delivery goal.
Tesla has cut U.S. prices ratcheting up its price war
Tesla has cut U.S. prices of its Model 3 compact sedan and the Model Y SUV، ratcheting up its price war just days after the third-quarter deliveries of the world's most valuable automaker missed market expectations، while the latest cuts come as the company strives hard to deliver a record 476 thousand green cars in the last three months of 2023 to meet the annual target of handing over 1.8 million vehicles.
The price cuts by Tesla - now by about 2.7% to 4.2% - started in January to support sales in an uncertain economy and fend off competition from U.S. automakers such as Ford and China's BYD، while the standard Model 3 sedan is now $1،250 cheaper at $38،990، while the Model Y long-range variant costs $2،000 less at $48،490 and the standard Model 3's prices have come down by about 17% since the start of the year، while the Model Y long-range variant has seen a drop of over 26%.
