Tesla gets outsold in Spain by upstart Chinese car brand Omoda
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Omoda sold 744 new cars in Spain in August, an 8,167 per cent increase over the nine cars registered in August 2023, according to Spain’s Anfac.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
Chery Automobile’s Omoda outsold Tesla, Jeep and Fiat in Spain in August, a promising sign for the Chinese automaker’s ambitious push into Europe.
Omoda sold 744 new cars in Spain in August, an 8,167 per cent increase over the nine cars registered in August 2023, according to Spain’s Anfac, whose full name is the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers. Its models include the €28,000 (S$40,400) Omoda 5, a combustion-engine sport utility vehicle that has a pricier electric sibling.
The Omoda sales push started with its official launch in Spain earlier in 2024. Chery, BYD and Geely are among the Chinese automakers expanding in Europe to escape a bruising price war at home. They are arriving just as new European Union tariffs on electric cars imported from China amplify the impact of a broader slowdown for EVs.
Chery is using Spain as a base for its wider expansion in the region. By the end of 2024, the company hopes to start production of electric Omoda SUVs at a former Nissan Motor factory near Barcelona’s cargo port, a move that should help the company avoid the EU duties. The manufacturer is also scouting sites for a second European location.
Tesla, which offers only electric vehicles, registered 549 vehicles in Spain in August, according to Anfac. Jeep and Fiat sold 532 and 305 vehicles in the country respectively. BLOOMBERG
