Tesla has never considered other EVs as competitors, said the company's Vice President in China. Tesla competes only with cars with internal combustion engines, therefore trying to attract consumers to buy its electric vehicles.
On January 9, Grace Tao, the Vice President of Tesla, gave an interview to the media in which she spoke about the company's policy, strategy, and pricing. Amid the recent news of price cuts, she spoke about Tesla's role in the Chinese automotive market. Tao stressed that the only competition it has is internal combustion engine vehicles, with other electric vehicles being allies, according to Auto Report.
Tesla's VP said that since January 1 this year, China has canceled the policy of subsidizing the purchase of new energy vehicles, which lasted more than 10 years. This means that every NEV OEM that sells NEVs is now losing almost RMB 10,000 of profit, and in order to hedge this part of the losses, brands such as BYD, Chery, Changan, Leapao, etc. have taken various measures, including price increases.
With Tesla cutting prices on its vehicles, talk has begun to surface that this is exacerbating internal friction between NEV manufacturers in China. However, Tao clarified that the company's goal is to fight ICE vehicles. First of all, consumers decide whether to buy a car with an internal combustion engine or an EV and if they choose an EV, only then do they choose a specific model. She said that “we [Tesla] have never considered these other electric vehicle companies as competitors. We must work together to make products more extreme and then meet the needs of customers in different market segments.”
Tesla currently produces only two Chinese-made vehicles. But, consumers have many different needs that may not be met by just two models, so there is healthy competition in the market. Tao said the company hopes there will be a variety of electric vehicles on the market that can meet everyone's needs.
© 2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
