Per reporter: Li Xing Per editor: Pei Jianru
Less than a week later, Tesla China raised the price of its models twice, with the highest increase reaching 30,000 yuan.
On March 15, the Daily Economic News reporter checked Tesla China's official website and found that the price of the domestic Model Y long-endurance version and high-performance version model rose from 357,900 yuan and 397,900 yuan to 375,900 yuan and 417,900 yuan, respectively, up 18,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan, respectively; the price of the rear-wheel drive model Y remained unchanged.
Image source: Tesla China official website
This is also the second price increase of the domestic Model Y long-endurance version and high-performance version in one week. On March 10, Tesla China announced that the price of the domestic Model Y long-endurance version and high-performance version will be raised by 10,000 yuan from now on. This means that in only 6 days, the price of the domestic Model Y long-endurance version and the high-performance version has increased by up to 30,000 yuan.
In addition to the price increase of the domestic Model Y long-endurance version and the high-performance version of the model, the price of the domestic Model 3 high-performance version has also been adjusted to 367,900 yuan, up 18,000 yuan from 349,900 yuan on March 10.
It is reported that at the same time as the price of domestic Tesla increased, Tesla's full line of American models also raised the price, an increase of 2,000 US dollars (equivalent to about 12,700 yuan) to 12,500 US dollars (equivalent to about 79,700 yuan). Among them, the model X Plaid model has the highest price increase of 12,500 US dollars; the Model 3 standard endurance upgrade version has increased by 2,000 US dollars, and the Model 3 long-endurance version has been raised by 4,000 US dollars (equivalent to about 25,500 yuan).
For the reasons for Tesla's continuous price increases, Tesla China's relevant staff only told reporters: "Everything is subject to official news." ”
However, Tesla also said that Tesla users who placed orders before this were not affected by price adjustments.
"Since Tesla was domestically produced, its pricing strategy has been relatively flexible, following the cost and market." Ren Wanfu, an analyst in the automotive industry, said in an interview with reporters that Tesla's large-scale price increase for its models is mainly affected by the increase in manufacturing costs caused by the rise in raw materials for power batteries.
A few days ago, Tesla CEO Musk also publicly stated that Tesla and Space X are facing huge inflationary pressures in raw materials and logistics. On March 14, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives publicly stated that Tesla estimated that it might announce another price increase in the next two weeks. "Rising inflation and a rapid rise in nickel prices are the main reasons for Tesla's price adjustment." Dan Ives said.
Since 2022, the prices of lithium, cobalt, nickel and other materials upstream of the new energy vehicle supply chain have been in a state of rapid growth. Public data shows that the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate exceeded 500,000 yuan / ton, an increase of 900% over the beginning of 2021.
Despite the price increase, Tesla's sales in the Chinese market remain strong. According to the Association, Tesla's wholesale sales in China were about 56,500 units in February. "In addition to the increase in cost pressure, another reason for Tesla's price increase is that its two domestic models have outstanding market performance and are in short supply." Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Contact Association, said.
Tesla China's official website shows that the expected delivery time of the domestic Model 3 is 16 weeks to 20 weeks; the expected delivery time of the domestic Model Y is 10 to 14 weeks.
"Tesla's price increase will not affect Tesla's later sales." Ren Wanfu said that Tesla is not the only company to increase prices, and other car brands at home and abroad are also raising prices.
Bai Yiyang of the International Research Department of CMB also said that due to the price adjustment strategy of competitors, Tesla does not have to worry about order losses when considering price increases, and the industry rise brings the effect of rising water.
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