News
GM employs Tesla-esque direct-to-consumer sales strategy in China
General Motors (GM) plans to launch a wholly-owned direct sales platform, Durant Guild, in China. With Durant Guild, GM hopes to revitalize Chinese consumers’ interest in its brand and increase sales in the country.
What is Durant Guild?
Durant Guild is named after GM’s founder William Durant. Felix Weller will head the platform. Through the direct sales platform, the legacy automaker plans to import and sell vehicles in China that have only been sold in the United States thus far, like the Hummer EV pickup truck or its SUV counterpart.
Durant Guild will adopt similar sales and marketing strategies that worked for Tesla and Apple. The direct sales platform will organize invitation-only events. It will also set up experience centers and pop-up shops throughout China.
However, the GM seems determined for Durant Guild to develop its own presence in the country. Durant Guild plans to create events and shops in unique locations to generate interest. For example, Weller shared that the platform will try to place experience centers in areas besides shopping malls, like Tesla and other EV startups.
Durant Guild’s Goals
The head of GM China, Julian Blissett, noted that the OEM’s goal with Durant Guild isn’t to sell volume but instead change the perception Chinese consumers have about General Motors. GM wants Durant Guild to build interest in cars previously only sold in the US. It hopes that some of that interest goes back to the vehicles GM is currently selling in China.
“Durant Guild is not a volume play, but if we do a good job and the products sell well, it will create a lot of buzz around Cadillac and Chevy and will help how people perceive our products and technology,” Blissett commented.
As per Reuters, General Motors’ sales of flagship brands like Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet have continued to plummet over the past five years. GM sales in China have dropped to 1.3 million cars a year. The legacy automaker’s market share slices have been eaten up by smart electric vehicles, like Tesla or China-based EV startups like NIO and BYD.
Challenges to GM’s Direct-to-Consumer Strategy
Blissett mentioned a shift in the Chinese market for “halo cars.” Consumers in cities have specifically started to show growing interest in performance vehicles for racing and SUVs for more off-road adventures. So General Motors hopes to attract three types of customers with Durant Guild: nature lovers; executive VIPs; and young, sporty drivers.
Chee-Kiang Lim, US-based Urban Science’s Managing Director for China, advised that GM also consider Chinese consumers’ growing interest in smart, connected features.
“What Chinese consumers want is to extend their digital lifestyles to their cars. Cars from foreign brands designed and engineered overseas are increasingly not meeting these needs,” he said.
“If Durant can overcome this bias and provide high-tech, personalized features and seamless connectivity to China’s digital ecosystems, its odds of success in the China marketplace will be higher,” Lim added.
Given the growing interest in more tech-savvy vehicles in China, General Motors would have to carefully select the cars it offers under Durant Guild. Tesla vehicles and even units from EV startups like NIO understand the tech and features people want integrated into their cars. General Motors would need to introduce similar tech or features in its vehicles to compete with newer, smarter cars.
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News
Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan
Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles).
Tesla has rolled out a series of quiet upgrades to its Model 3 and Model Y in China, enhancing range and performance for long-range variants. The updates come with a price hike for the Model 3 Long Range All-Wheel Drive, which now costs RMB 285,500 (about $39,300), up RMB 10,000 ($1,400) from the previous price.
Model 3 gets acceleration boost, extended range
Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles), up from 713 km (443 miles), and a faster 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds, down from 4.4 seconds. These changes suggest that Tesla has bundled the previously optional Acceleration Boost for the Model 3, once priced at RMB 14,100 ($1,968), as a standard feature.
Delivery wait times for the long-range Model 3 have also been shortened, from 3–5 weeks to just 1–3 weeks, as per CNEV Post. No changes were made to the entry-level RWD or Performance versions, which retain their RMB 235,500 and RMB 339,500 price points, respectively. Wait times for those trims also remain at 1–3 weeks and 8–10 weeks.
Model Y range increases, pricing holds steady
The Model Y Long Range has also seen its CLTC-rated range increase from 719 km (447 miles) to 750 km (466 miles), though its price remains unchanged at RMB 313,500 ($43,759). The model maintains a 0–100 km/h time of 4.3 seconds.
Tesla also updated delivery times for the Model Y lineup. The Long Range variant now shows a wait time of 1–3 weeks, an improvement from the previous 3–5 weeks. The entry-level RWD version maintained its starting price of RMB 263,500, though its delivery window is now shorter at 2–4 weeks.
Tesla continues to offer several purchase incentives in China, including an RMB 8,000 discount for select paint options, an RMB 8,000 insurance subsidy, and five years of interest-free financing for eligible variants.
News
Tesla China registrations hit 20.7k in final week of June, highest in Q2
The final week of June stands as the second-highest of 2025 and the best-performing week of the quarter.
Tesla China recorded 20,680 domestic insurance registrations during the week of June 23–29, marking its highest weekly total in the second quarter of 2025.
The figure represents a 49.3% increase from the previous week and a 46.7% improvement year-over-year, suggesting growing domestic momentum for the electric vehicle maker in Q2’s final weeks.
Q2 closes with a boost despite year-on-year dip
The strong week helped lift Tesla’s performance for the quarter, though Q2 totals remain down 4.6% quarter-over-quarter and 10.9% year-over-year, according to industry watchers. Despite these declines, the last week of June stands as the second-highest of 2025 and the best-performing week of the quarter.
As per industry watchers, Tesla China delivered 15,210 New Model Y units last week, the highest weekly tally since the vehicle’s launch. The Model 3 followed with 5,470 deliveries during the same period. Tesla’s full June and Q2 sales data for China are expected to be released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) in the coming days.
Tesla China and minor Model 3 and Model Y updates
Tesla manufactures the Model 3 and Model Y at its Shanghai facility, which provides vehicles to both domestic and international markets. In May, the automaker reported 38,588 retail sales in China, down 30.1% year-over-year but up 34.3% from April. Exports from Shanghai totaled 23,074 units in May, a 32.9% improvement from the previous year but down 22.4% month-over-month, as noted in a CNEV Post report.
Earlier this week, Tesla introduced minor updates to the long-range versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in China. The refreshed Model 3 saw a modest price increase, while pricing for the updated Model Y Long Range variant remained unchanged. These adjustments come as Tesla continues refining its China lineup amid shifting local demand and increased competition from domestic brands.
Elon Musk
Tesla investors will be shocked by Jim Cramer’s latest assessment
Jim Cramer is now speaking positively about Tesla, especially in terms of its Robotaxi performance and its perception as a company.
Tesla investors will be shocked by analyst Jim Cramer’s latest assessment of the company.
When it comes to Tesla analysts, many of them are consistent. The bulls usually stay the bulls, and the bears usually stay the bears. The notable analysts on each side are Dan Ives and Adam Jonas for the bulls, and Gordon Johnson for the bears.
Jim Cramer is one analyst who does not necessarily fit this mold. Cramer, who hosts CNBC’s Mad Money, has switched his opinion on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) many times.
He has been bullish, like he was when he said the stock was a “sleeping giant” two years ago, and he has been bearish, like he was when he said there was “nothing magnificent” about the company just a few months ago.
Now, he is back to being a bull.
Cramer’s comments were related to two key points: how NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang describes Tesla after working closely with the Company through their transactions, and how it is not a car company, as well as the recent launch of the Robotaxi fleet.
Jensen Huang’s Tesla Narrative
Cramer says that the narrative on quarterly and annual deliveries is overblown, and those who continue to worry about Tesla’s performance on that metric are misled.
“It’s not a car company,” he said.
He went on to say that people like Huang speak highly of Tesla, and that should be enough to deter any true skepticism:
“I believe what Musk says cause Musk is working with Jensen and Jensen’s telling me what’s happening on the other side is pretty amazing.”
Tesla self-driving development gets huge compliment from NVIDIA CEO
Robotaxi Launch
Many media outlets are being extremely negative regarding the early rollout of Tesla’s Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas.
There have been a handful of small issues, but nothing significant. Cramer says that humans make mistakes in vehicles too, yet, when Tesla’s test phase of the Robotaxi does it, it’s front page news and needs to be magnified.
He said:
“Look, I mean, drivers make mistakes all the time. Why should we hold Tesla to a standard where there can be no mistakes?”
It’s refreshing to hear Cramer speak logically about the Robotaxi fleet, as Tesla has taken every measure to ensure there are no mishaps. There are safety monitors in the passenger seat, and the area of travel is limited, confined to a small number of people.
Tesla is still improving and hopes to remove teleoperators and safety monitors slowly, as CEO Elon Musk said more freedom could be granted within one or two months.
Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan
Tesla China registrations hit 20.7k in final week of June, highest in Q2
Tesla investors will be shocked by Jim Cramer’s latest assessment
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