Tesla’s China Success in 2024 Contrasts with Global Sales Drop

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Tesla announced on Friday that its sales in China rose by 8.8% to a record 657,000 vehicles in 2024, despite facing a competitive market. This growth came in a year when Tesla's global deliveries saw a decline for the first time.

In December, sales in China increased by 12.8% compared to the previous month, reaching a record 83,000 units. China accounted for 36.7% of Tesla's total global sales in 2024, making it the company's second-largest market.

However, Tesla’s overall global deliveries fell by 1.1%, missing CEO Elon Musk’s forecast of slight growth. Contributing factors included reduced subsidies in Europe, a shift in the U.S. towards lower-priced hybrid vehicles, and increasing competition, particularly from China's BYD. Tesla’s global sales for the year totaled 1.79 million, narrowly surpassing BYD, which saw its global EV sales grow by 12.1% to 1.76 million.

Tesla also reduced its global workforce in response to weaker demand and stronger competition from Chinese EV makers. The company cut its sales team in China and extended discounts and zero-interest financing on its Model Y and Model 3 cars through the end of the month to help boost sales.

Meanwhile, BYD surpassed its sales target, with a 41% increase in passenger vehicle sales, reaching over 4.25 million units. The company’s international sales grew by 71.9%, totaling 417,204 units, although it missed its 2024 export goal of 450,000 vehicles due to a 17% tariff imposed by the EU. Almost 20% of BYD's exports were sold in Brazil, where investigations are underway into the working conditions of Chinese laborers at a local BYD factory.

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.