Competition is getting tougher for Tesla in China’s electric vehicle market. There are a lot of companies trying to sell electric cars there.
In 2023, around 123 car companies sold electric cars in China. To compare, in the US, there were over 65 car brands in 2023. This shows how crowded the electric car market is in China.
The Chinese government has played a big role in this. They gave subsidies to car companies that made electric cars, which helped boost production.
Even though the subsidies slowed down in 2016, the support from the government didn’t completely go away. China’s top electric car maker, BYD, got more than $2.2 billion in subsidies in 2022.
All this government help led to more electric cars being made and sold. Tesla, however, hasn’t really joined the price competition, which might not be good for them.
But Tesla is still one of the top electric car sellers in China. Only a few brands compete with them.
In 2023, only four electric car makers in China sold more than 400,000 vehicles each: BYD, Aion, Wuling, and Tesla. Tesla sold about 387,000 electric cars globally in the first quarter of 2024, while BYD sold about 300,114.
But, electric car sales are slowing down in both the US and China. In the US, people are looking for cheaper electric cars. In China, there are price wars and other problems because of the economy.
Tesla and BYD didn’t say anything when asked for a comment.
