The situation in the electric car market in China, which is the largest in the world, is aggravated not only by the economic downturn after the pandemic and high competition, but also by the cessation of providing citizens with subsidies for the purchase of this type of personal transport from January of this year. Manufacturers were forced to compensate for this by lowering the prices of their products, and Tesla was no exception, adjusting the prices of its products in China for the second time in the last three months.

Tesla delivered just 55,796 Chinese-made electric vehicles to customers in December, almost half the number in November, according to the China Industry Association. Sales problems forced the company to shut down the assembly line at its largest facility in Shanghai from December 25 until early January. The pause will be used for maintenance of technological equipment and modernization of production lines. On the twentieth of January, Tesla intends to stop the assembly line in Shanghai for another 8 days, since the country will be holding the traditional New Year holidays at this time.

At the end of this week, Tesla once again cut the prices of its Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles. Compared to September prices, they fell by 13 to 24%. The decrease compared to the price level as of the beginning of January ranged from 6 to 13.5%. The junior version of the Tesla Model 3 in China now costs $33,427. Locally assembled Tesla electric vehicles are 24-32% cheaper than those offered in the US, but those assembled in the last of the Model S and Model X countries in China cost 10% more, since they are imported from over the ocean. Statistics show that 54% of Tesla electric vehicles sold on the global market last year were assembled in China.