The China Passenger Car Market Information Association announced April’s automobile sales data in the Chinese market on May 11. Among them, Tesla China’s monthly sales data has attracted widespread attention in China.
Data show that Tesla China sold 25,845 vehicles in April, a 27% decrease compared with March sales. Cumulative sales from January to April reached 95,125 vehicles. In addition, the April sales of nearly 26,000 vehicles also included a record high of 14,174 export sales.
In response, Tesla’s public relations department stated on May 11, “Tesla China exports to many countries. Starting this year, all Model 3 models exported to the world are supplied by the Shanghai plant, including Japan and Australia, New Zealand, Singapore in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Although its export sales are eye-catching, Tesla China’s local sales are surprising. After deducting export sales of approximately 14,000 vehicles, its local sales were 11,671. According to Tesla’s (TSLA.NASDAQ) first-quarter financial report released a few days ago, its average delivery of new cars in China from January to March was about 23,000. In other words, its local sales in April fell by nearly 50%.
Regarding Tesla’s sales changes, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Market Information Association, said on May 11 that the seasonal decline was a factor in the decline in sales. “There are also reasons for the low sales at the beginning of the quarter.”
In addition, there were media reports on the same day that the decline in Tesla China’s sales was caused by the suspension of production of the Model Y production line at the Shanghai Super Factory for two weeks in April. However, it is worth mentioning that at present, Tesla China mainly uses Model 3 as the main sales force in China. According to the sales data of China Automobile Association, the sales volume of Model 3 in March reached 25,352, which was still far ahead of Tesla China’s local sales in April.
In the market, the sharp decline in domestic sales of Tesla China in April is more interpreted as being dragged down by a series of recent negative news.
In this regard, a Tesla directly-operated store in Guangzhou stated on May 11 that a series of events such as the Shanghai Auto Show had a certain impact on sales, but it doesn’t affect Chinese consumers who are already interested in Tesla.
It is worth noting that Tesla China is still in the ferment of the public opinion storm in recent times.
Recently, a Chinese lawyer surnamed Song, who claims to be a male Tesla owner, sued the female owner of Tesla’s rights defense. In his civil complaint, Mr. Song said that since the Chinese female owner started to defend her rights with her Tesla car’s “brake failure”, more and more people in Chinese society have been misled to associate “Tesla” with “brake failure”. and “brake failure” has been associated with other Tesla owners, and as a result, the owners are greeted, ridiculed, mocked and even personally attacked, either in good faith or in bad faith.
In fact, outside of the Shanghai Auto Show issue, Tesla China has been involved in more suspected brake failure incidents. For example, at noon on May 7, a Tesla Model 3 in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, rear-ended a truck at high speed, killing the Tesla driver on the spot. According to the surveillance video at the time of the incident, the vehicle involved in the rear-end of the truck at a very high speed, with a tendency to turn but no deceleration. The overall situation was unusual.
According to official reports, the deceased Tesla car owner was a local retired police officer, and the Tesla vehicle involved in the accident was purchased in January 2021. At present, the accident car has been sealed up, waiting for the expert team to arrive at the scene to investigate, the cause of the accident investigation and aftermath work is ongoing.
Is there a problem with Tesla’s braking system? Are many accidents caused by defects in Tesla vehicles or due to improper operations by the car owners? This has always been a big mystery lingering in the hearts of Chinese consumers, and it is also the main point of controversy.
The above issues have yet to be formally investigated by the Chinese regulatory authorities, and Tesla’s global vice president Tao Lin recently linked the issue with consumer education in an interview with the media, which once again caused heated discussions in the Chinese market.
“In the use of vehicles, it may be necessary to strengthen consumer education.” Tao Lin said that Tesla China may need to cooperate with Chinese driving schools and transportation departments to let everyone understand the use of new type cars, so that Chinese consumers can avoid misoperations during use.
Source: Times Finance