Tesla’s price cuts in China dropped sales of competing domestic electric vehicle makers Nio, Li Auto, and Xpeng by as much as 60 percent in January.
Nio, Li Auto, and Xpeng all showed significant drops in both monthly and year-over-year sales comparisons in January after Tesla stroked demand by dropping prices by as much as 13.5 percent on vehicles in China.
Nio delivered 8,506 vehicles in January, a 46.2 percent drop from December 2022 and an 11.9 decrease from January 2022. Li Auto’s 15,141 units delivered last month was a 28.7 percent decrease from the month before and a 23.4 percent drop from January 2022. XPeng felt the most drastic decrease, with a 53.8 percent sales decrease compared to December but a massive 59.6 percent drop from last January.
(Credit: Tesla China)
While January sales figures in China are usually lighter than December anyway due to the celebration of the Lunar New Year, Investing.com reports that analysts are more convinced that Tesla’s price drops in the market contributed to the sales slumps.
Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai, China, said:
“Apparently, Tesla’s huge discounts [on its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles] siphoned off drivers’ buying interest in the Chinese-developed smart EVs. Overall demand for expensive EVs appears to be weak, which could lead to price wars in the premium EV segment this year.”
On January 6, Tesla adjusted the Model 3 and Model Y prices in China, dropping prices to influence demand spikes as December saw a drastic decrease in sales from the EV market in the region. Tesla saw a 44 percent decrease in sales in December compared to November, although the company rolled out end-of-year discounts to help reach its yearly production and delivery targets.
From January 9 to January 15, the week following Tesla’s price cuts in China, the automaker’s sales shot up 76 percent to 12,654 vehicles, data from the China Merchant’s Bank showed.
Tesla used the same price-cut strategy in the United States in January to start 2023 off at a rapid pace. Additionally, Teslarati reported earlier this week that Tesla is adding $3,000 off or three years of free Supercharging to select Model S and Model X trade-ins, hoping to spark new orders for its flagship models.
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