Tesla has stopped selling the U.S.-made Model S and Model X in China
Tesla stopped taking orders for new Model S and Model X cars in China late last week.
Here's What We Know
The American electric car manufacturer has not officially announced a change in the model range for the Chinese market. The company simply removed from its local website the option to place an order for the Model S and Model X. However, interested parties can still buy the said models from stock, Bloomberg reported.
Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai only produces the Model 3 and Model Y, and most of them are sold in China or exported to other Asian countries. The more expensive Model S and Model X were imported into China from billionaire Elon Musk's US auto assembly plant.
The halt in order intake came amid a mutual increase in duties between the US and China. US goods in China are subject to a 125 per cent levy, while Chinese goods in the US (excluding smartphones and some electronic components) are subject to a 145 per cent levy.
According to the China Centre for Automotive Technology and Research, the Model S and Model X account for a small fraction of Tesla's sales in China - just under 2,000 vehicles last year, compared with 661,820 units of the Model 3 and Model Y.
While the loss of the Model S and Model X won't have much of an impact on Tesla's sales in the world's largest auto market, it will still be a blow to the company's already shaky position in China. Production at the Shanghai plant has fallen for six consecutive months, and deliveries in the first quarter were down 22 per cent. One of the biggest threats to Tesla in China comes from BYD, which is now the largest maker of "new energy vehicles" (what they call battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids in China).
Source: Bloomberg
