Tesla car sales in China fall 11.5% as competition intensifies

Tesla sold 63,238 units of its electric cars in January, down 11.5% from the 71,447 cars sold in the same month last year.

Shares of Tesla were down about 1.5% in premarket trading.

Chinese rival BYD meanwhile sold 296,446 pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles last month, up 47% year-on-year.

Tesla has attempted to use price cuts as an incentive to retain Chinese’ buyers interest in its car. Late last year, Tesla slashed the price of its Model Y car and also extended a zero-interest five-year loan plan until the end of January.

Last month, the U.S. giant also announced a revamped version of the Model Y — one of its best-selling EV autos — in China. This also came with a 0% interest plan.

Tesla has not introduced a new model since it began delivering the Cybertruck in late 2023, which starts at nearly $80,000. Investors have been yearning for a new mass-market model from the company to reinvigorate sales.

Tesla has said a new affordable model could be launched in the first half of 2025.

Meanwhile, the automaker is pushing to launch its driver assist system, which it markets as “Full Self Driving,” in China this year, as rivals also roll out similar features.