In theory, lower prices should boost sales and this is probably what is happening right now with Tesla electric cars.
According to Reuters, Tesla’s retail sales surged in the first part of January, after the company cut its prices by 5.7-13.5 percent in an attempt to sell more cars.
We already heard unofficial news about a high number of orders (as high as 30,000 in three days), and now the China Merchants Bank International (CMBI) revealed that Tesla sales, during the seven days between January 9-15, increased by 76 percent year-over-year to 12,654.
That would be a positive outcome, especially considering that during the period, the average car sales in China decreased by 14.5 percent, while in the case of xEVs (electric or hybrid vehicles), there was a growth of 36.5 percent. In other words, the market is going down, while Tesla is outpacing the “green” car segment.
In January 2022, Tesla sold in China 19,346 Made-in-China (MIC) Model 3 and Model Y cars, while another 40,499 were exported. If the growth really is 76 percent, then we can expect around 34,000 units. That would be a lower result than in December (41,926), but at the same time, a new record for the first month of a quarter (at the beginning of a quarter, Tesla usually focuses on export).
We don’t know anything for sure, but let’s note that January might be solid.
Interestingly, XPeng sales – according to CMBI – decreased 36 percent year-over-year, which would throw new light on why the company recently lowered prices.
The biggest side news is however what is happening with BYD. The volume reportedly more than doubled year-over-year to 40,435, within the same period (January 9-15).
BYD sold almost 93,000 in January 2022, but its most recent production and sales rate far exceed 200,000 per month. This is why a report about doubled volume is not a surprise. BYD just continues its expansion (actually the rate of growth is slowing down).
The list provided by Moneyball also indicates that there is no New Energy Vehicle brand even close to BYD:
