BEIJING – Tesla made another round of price cuts on its Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles (EVs) in China on Friday, while also introducing its higher-end Model S sedan and Model X to get a better hold on the premium end of the world’s biggest EV market.
The starting price for the locally built Model Y sport utility vehicle (SUV) has been slashed to 259,900 yuan (S$51,070) from 288,900 yuan, according to the company’s Chinese website.
That is a record low for China and 43 per cent cheaper than the US$65,900 (S$88,790) starting price listed on Tesla’s US website. The Model 3 goes to 229,900 yuan from 265,900 yuan, about 30 per cent cheaper than in the United States.
Tesla cut prices in China in 2022 to boost sales as competition hots up in both the mass and premium segments, with the likes of the Warren Buffett-backed BYD, Xpeng and Nio, as well as international players such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz Group, all vying for sales.
Tesla said its new Model S, with a redesigned interior, is priced at 789,900 yuan in China, while the Plaid version – Tesla’s fastest car, taking only 2.1 seconds to go from zero to 100kmh – will be sold from 1.01 million yuan. The Model X SUV is priced from 879,900 yuan and the Model X Plaid starts at 1.04 million yuan. Deliveries will begin in the second quarter of 2023, Tesla said.
Tesla is a dominant player in China’s mass-market EV sector – vehicles that cost no more than 300,000 yuan. The company localised production of Model 3 sedans at the end of 2019 when it opened a factory in Shanghai capable of churning out 450,000 cars a year. It started shipping Model Ys from there in January 2021.
Tesla shipped more than 710,000 vehicles from Shanghai in 2022, representing about 54 per cent of its worldwide sales. But deliveries slowed in December as production was suspended for equipment upgrades and demand ebbed. Tesla announced earlier this week that global deliveries were lower than expected for a third straight quarter, prompting a 12 per cent slump in its share price on Tuesday.
Tesla also adjusted the prices of its Model 3 and Model Y cars in Japan on Friday, according to a separate notice. The entry-level Model 3 will be lowered 10 per cent to 5.4 million yen (S$54,200) while the Model Y will now cost 9.9 per cent less at 5.8 million yen. BLOOMBERG
