Tesla’s sales of China-made electric vehicles have continued to decline, marking an eight-month downturn with a 15% year-on-year drop in May, reported Reuters.
Deliveries of the Model 3 and Model Y, including both domestic sales and exports, fell to 61,662 vehicles, despite a 5.5% increase from April.
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The US electric vehicle specialist’s sales woes in China were further exacerbated by intense price wars in the world’s largest auto market.
In an effort to boost sales, Tesla has offered smart assisted driving capability transfers to new vehicles and included Model 3 and Model Y in a government-backed campaign to promote EV sales in rural areas.
However, Tesla’s challenges are not limited to China.
The company has also faced a sales rout across much of Europe last month, attributed to its aging model lineup and CEO Elon Musk’s political activities, which may have deterred buyers.
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By GlobalDataIn response to the competitive market, Tesla ignited a price war in 2023, drawing in over 40 brands.
This aggressive pricing strategy is under scrutiny as China has urged a halt to the bruising price wars.
Following Tesla’s price cuts, other manufacturers such as BYD, Geely Auto, and Chery have offered fresh incentives, intensifying the competition.
Despite the overall decline, Tesla’s China-made EV deliveries in May did see a slight increase from the previous month.
Meanwhile, BYD, Tesla’s biggest rival, reported a 14.1% year-on-year rise in global passenger vehicle sales, although this was a slowdown from April’s 19.4% growth.
In a strategic move to enhance its advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) in China, Tesla partnered with Baidu in March.
Baidu’s engineers have collaborated with Tesla’s Beijing team to integrate Baidu’s mapping data with Tesla’s full self-driving (FSD) Version 13 software, aiming to refine the system with more accurate and up-to-date mapping information for navigating Chinese roads.
