Title: Tesla’s First-Half Sales Soar 57%, Cumulative Output of New Energy Vehicles in China Hits 20 Million
Date: July 4, 2023
【Caixin】
Tesla, the American electric vehicle company, has reported impressive sales figures for the first half of the year, with a 57% year-on-year increase in sales. The company produced a total of 920,000 vehicles and delivered 889,000 vehicles during this period. These record-breaking numbers can be attributed to Tesla’s reduced prices and additional discounts, which have significantly boosted sales. Furthermore, Tesla plans to deliver a record-breaking number of vehicles in 2023 with projections of 423,000 and 466,000 units for the first and second quarters, respectively.
In a significant achievement for the Chinese automotive industry, China’s cumulative output of new energy vehicles has reached 20 million. The milestone was marked when the country’s 20 millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the assembly line in Guangzhou. It took 15 years for China to reach the first 10 million vehicles, but remarkably, only 1 year and 5 months to reach the second 10 million vehicles. In response to this success, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced plans to optimize policies supporting the purchase and use of new energy vehicles, encourage more companies to enter the market, and accelerate technological innovation in the sector.
China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs have collectively announced that export controls will be imposed on items related to gallium and germanium. Eight gallium-related items and six germanium-related items, including metallic germanium and phosphorous germanium-zinc, will require permission for export starting from August 1, 2023. These measures have been implemented to safeguard national security and interests. Gallium and germanium are valuable metals used in various industries, particularly in optoelectronics, solar cells, and semiconductors, emphasizing their importance in the global market.
Kai-Fu Lee, the chairman and CEO of Innovation Works, has launched an AI 2.0 company named “Zero One Wanwu.” The Beijing-based company will focus on developing large-scale model technology, artificial intelligence algorithms, natural language processing, system architecture, computing power architecture, data security, and product development. The team consists of numerous industry veterans who have previously held senior positions in companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, Didi, Google China, Microsoft, SAP, and Cisco. Zero One Wanwu plans to release an open-source model version to attract top talent and foster collaborative improvement.
China’s film industry is experiencing a surge in box office revenue, with the weekly revenue surpassing 2 billion yuan for the first time since the beginning of the year. Domestic films dominated the top three spots on the box office list, with the suspense film “The Missing Her” leading the way by generating 1.602 billion yuan in a single week. With a cumulative box office of 2.318 billion yuan after just 10 days of release, “The Missing Her” has become the 30th film in Chinese history to exceed 2 billion yuan in revenue.
Wanda Film, one of China’s leading film production companies, announced its expected reversal from losses to profits in the first half of the year. The company anticipates a net profit ranging from 380 million to 420 million yuan, in stark contrast to a net loss of 580 million yuan during the same period last year. Wanda Films also recorded a significant increase in operating income, projecting figures between 6.7 billion and 6.9 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 35.6% to 39.7%.
BMW Brilliance and Baidu have recently signed a strategic cooperation memorandum, focusing on digital and intelligent technologies. BMW will collaborate with Baidu to provide technical support for BMW’s AI platform, “BEACON,” specifically in the areas of natural language processing and data analysis-related capabilities. Additionally, the two companies aim to explore the application of quantum computing in production, manufacturing, finance, insurance, and exchange rate calculations.
Despite challenges faced by the logistics industry, China’s logistics industry prosperity index has seen a slight month-on-month rebound in June. Data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed a 0.2 percentage point increase to reach 51.7%. However, the warehousing industry index experienced a minor decline of 0.6 percentage points to 50.7%. The low profitability of enterprises and funding constraints for small and medium-sized companies continue to hinder overall sector growth.
According to a recent report by market research organization IDC, China’s edge cloud market is projected to exceed 4.6 billion yuan in the second half of 2022, marking a 53.5% year-on-year increase. Market segments such as cloud services, edge-only cloud services, and edge cloud solutions are expected to contribute significantly to this growth. This rise can be attributed to factors such as internet audio and video distribution, lightweight local cloud access, edge security requirements, cloud gaming, and security monitoring video storage.
These developments across various sectors in China and globally highlight the country’s progress and ambition in leading technological advancements and attracting industry leaders and investors.
Organized by Caixin Yucong.