Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 🚗 Tesla China saw a decline in insurance registrations, with 11,800 registrations in the week ending September 3, down 30.59% from the previous week.
- 📉 Other companies like Li Auto and BYD also experienced drops in insurance registrations, albeit to a lesser extent.
- 🚘 Tesla China launched the Model 3 Highland with a sleeker exterior and new interior, and it attracted strong demand despite a slightly higher price.
- 💰 Tesla China reduced the prices of the Model Y Long Range and Model Y Performance by 14,000 yuan ($1,930) in mid-August.
- 🌐 Tesla China’s insurance registrations serve as an indicator of the company’s weekly vehicle sales, as Tesla doesn’t publicly release this data.
Reports from industry watchers in China indicate that the electric vehicle sector saw a decline in insurance registrations during the week ending September 3. This was true for newer companies like Li Auto, as well as EV giants like Tesla and BYD.
Tesla China does not release its weekly sales numbers, though a general idea of the company’s weekly vehicle sales can be inferred from the number of insurance registrations that are tracked nationwide. In this light, companies such as Li Auto have taken it upon themselves to monitor and publish the EV segment’s weekly insurance figures.
As per industry watchers, Tesla China saw 11,800 insurance registrations in the week of August 28 to September 3. That’s down 30.59% from the 17,000 registrations that the electric vehicle maker saw the week prior. In comparison, Li Auto saw its registrations decline by 3.9%, and BYD saw its insurance registrations drop by 1.74%.
Tesla China’s results come amidst the company’s launch of the Model 3 Highland, which made its debut late last week. True to speculations about the vehicle, the Model 3 Highland presented a new, sleeker exterior and a fully redone interior. Demand for the vehicle is reportedly strong despite its slightly higher price compared to the previous generation Model 3 sedan.
The Tesla Model 3 Highland was formally unveiled in China at the China International Fair For Trade in Services, which is being held in Beijing. Images shared online showed that the all-electric sedan attracted quite a lot of attention from the event’s attendees.
Tesla China also cut the price of both the Tesla Model Y Long Range and Model Y Performance in China by 14,000 yuan ($1,930) in the middle of August. The Model Y Rear Wheel Drive (RWD), which is produced at Gigafactory Shanghai, remained unchanged at the time.
