Data out over the weekend showed that Tesla delivered a record number of cars in China last month.
Musk may have been nursing his wounds following the poor worldwide deliveries report from the previous quarter, but the delivery of a record 83,000 EVs in the world's largest auto market last month may have made him forget all about it. Not that the strong performance was completely unexpected—there were a few important triggers in motion. One example is that Tesla recently rebuilt its facility in Shanghai, increasing its capacity to produce cars by 30% each week. In addition, the company began offering insurance incentives to Chinese customers in September, which attracted drivers who were already weary of rising fuel prices.
Although Tesla may be progressing in China, its rivals are working extremely hard to encroach on the company's other key markets. After Toyota and Tesla, BYD, the third-most valuable automaker in the world, recently disclosed plans to enter the European market as a first step in its ambitious worldwide growth. The Chinese company Nio also wants a piece of that tasty European pie, and this week it revealed its plans to sell automobiles throughout the whole continent after a year of sales in Norway.
Given how bad the Chinese economy is, it is not surprising that Tesla's competitors are trying to grow abroad. Data released over the weekend revealed that China's services sector contracted in September for the first time in four months as the nation's zero-Covid strategy had a negative impact on consumer spending. And it doesn't seem like that policy will change anytime soon since the current government is set to receive a new five-year term as leader this week.
Commentaires