After two recent promotions in China, Tesla’s sales are still far from expectations and the company will again make new “price cuts” before the end of the year to boost sales, said local technology media Huxiu.
On October 24, Tesla cuts prices of Model 3 and Model Y in China by up to 9%. The price of the Model 3 electric sedan was lowered to 265,900 yuan ($36,727.03) from the previous 279,900 yuan. Meanwhile the price of the Model Y fell to 288,900 yuan from 316,900 yuan.
That’s not enough, on November 8, Tesla announced that consumers who purchase Model 3 and Model Y produced until December 31 and have car insurance from a Tesla insurance partner will receive a discount of up to RMB 8,000 on final payment.
However, the two promotions did not work well to increase Tesla’s desired sales numbers, said the Huxiu report.
The Oct. 24 price cut “only” earned Tesla about 50,000 new orders in China from its expected 100,000-170,000 target, the report said.
As an electric vehicle that has been on the market for more than six years, the Model 3 has not undergone a facelift making it less competitive in the increasingly crowded Chinese market, the report said.
The report blames the underwhelming results of Tesla’s two most recent promotions for the company’s failure to pay sufficient attention to competition from other players.
Tesla could cut prices again next month or consumers could face an additional RMB 11,088 in fees as the NEV purchase subsidies expire, the report said.
