Tesla China Sees 500% Rise in Insurance Registrations After Introducing Price Cuts

During the first week of January Tesla China say 2,110 insurance registrations. After the price cuts in China, during the second week of January, between January 9-15 Tesla say 12,654 weekly insured Tesla units.
It appears that the effects of Tesla China’s recent round of price cuts are starting to become evident as this very important indication is hinted from the insurance registrations of Tesla’s electric vehicles during the second week of January 2023.

$TSLA China weekly insured units 12,654 week of 1/9-1/15 +500% WoW after price cut vs 2,110 week of 1/2-1/8. Industry NEV +29% WoW. https://t.co/kPjzGlKvjI— Gary Black (@garyblack00) January 17, 2023

But Tesla China is still behind BYD, which saw 40,420 insurance registrations in the second week of January. But look at the rise. Compared to the first week of January BYD only wrote 12.38%, but during the same period Tesla’s insurance registrations rose about 500 percent. This indicates that Tesla sales one day may surpass BYD if the company can keep the same pace. However, keep in mind that BYD has at least two very affordable electric vehicles on sale in China under $30,000. In fact, it looks like there is an intense price competition between Tesla and BYD, which is just getting started.

Overall, Tesla China’s rise in insured units during the second week of January are much better than the numbers from the first week of the month. This is a promising sign for the electric carmaker, as it suggests that Tesla’s price cuts for the Model 3 and Model Y have had a positive effect on sales. However, Tesla community members on social media have expressed reservations about the number of insured units posted in the past week. Many are claiming that the numbers do not accurately reflect the real sales growth that Tesla is experiencing in the Chinese market. After all, expectations were high that vehicle sales would pick up by a notable degree after the substantial price cuts.

That being said, Tesla China’s price cuts were implemented on January 6. Thus, there is a chance that a good number of customers who ordered Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers after the price cuts are yet to take delivery of their cars. This means that the true impact of the price cuts may not be reflected in the numbers until at least the following week. Even if Tesla’s sales don’t improve substantially in the near future, the company’s decision to lower prices could still be seen as a positive step in the right direction.

As Torque News Tesla reporter Jeremy Johnson noted several days ago, "Tesla recently cut prices in China and this has created a surge of additional demand. There are now reports of an additional 30,000 Tesla orders in 3 days."

Take for example the case with the Tesla Model Y, which makes my previous point very evident. The Model Y these days has an estimated delivery date of 2.5 weeks on Tesla China's official site. Therefore, the recent price cuts implemented by Tesla China appear to have been met with an enthusiastic response, as indicated by the extended delivery estimate for the vehicle, suggesting that there has been a surge in reservations.

Tesla China is known for its dedication to foreign markets, evident through its first-half of the quarter exports. This was hinted at in a drone flyover of the Port of Shanghai earlier this month, which showed that Tesla China was busy exporting vehicles abroad. This is an important aspect of Tesla's business model, as the company looks to grow their share in the global market. It is a testament to the company's commitment to providing their customers with the best products, regardless of their location. This is a positive step towards making Tesla an even more successful and well-known brand.

Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.