A Tesla Model Y can cost in China as much as (in Europe) a rival of the first Chinese competitor BYD, the SUV Atto 3: 38 thousand euros. It happens with the latest round of price cuts, which the American brand has launched since the beginning of 2023 on the hyper-competitive Dragon market. But be careful: that the two cars, certainly not superimposable but similar in many respects in terms of performance, such as autonomy (about 300 kilometres, but Tesla wins for top speed, acceleration, energy efficiency and speed of recharging) have the same price. just an optical illusion.
In China, Atto 3 costs 20,000 euros and falls within the price range that almost 50% of the local audience opts for, according to a McKinsey study. It is no coincidence that BYD dominates the Chinese electric car market (which also includes plug-in hybrids) with volumes more than triple that of Tesla, in third position, according to the China Passenger Car Association (comparison between 2022 and the first quarter of 2023). As for the European, or rather Italian, market, Model Y starts at 47,000 euros, therefore about 10,000 euros more than its rival, which beat it for sales in Sweden in July. It is true that Model Y was the top seller in the first half in Europe and number 1 in the world in the first quarter. But Byd is scary with his impressive growth.
Musk’s new offensive
Returning to Tesla, the brand led by CEO Elon Musk has once again filed price lists in China for long-range and high-performance Model Ys since August 14th. The Austin-based automaker has lowered the starting prices of both models by 14,000 yuan (1,762 euros). The starting price of the Model Y Long Range drops by 4.5% to 299,900 yuan (37,753 euros) and that of the Model Y Performance is now 349,900 yuan (44,048), down 3.8%.
In the same announcement, Tesla also said it will offer insurance incentives in China of 8,000 yuan (one thousand euros) for Model 3 buyers, limited to entry-level rear-wheel drive versions, until September 30.
The shares of the Texan company went into the red by more than 2.5% in intraday trading and then retraced, however knocking out numerous other shares of electric car manufacturers, such as the Americans Rivian and Lucid and like Byd itself (-6 .2% in Hong Kong), as well as Li Auto, Xpeng and Leapmotor.