Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor.
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is continuing with its sales-boosting efforts, and the electric vehicle giant has reportedly announced Monday new promotional measures in China.
What Happened: Tesla will continue to offer insurance subsidies for entry-level Model 3 vehicles in China until Jan. 31, the company announced on its Weibo account, CnEVPost reported. The company began offering insurance subsidies for both Model 3 and Y base trims at the end of November, and this was originally set to expire Dec. 31.
Customers opting to buy inventory Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel drive variants, including test drive cars and show cars, produced between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31 will receive an insurance subsidy of 6,000 yuan ($847) if they complete deliveries by the end of the month. This is lower than the 8,000 yuan offered in December.
Customers wanting to avail the subsidy should purchase insurance through an agency that works with Tesla.
Additionally, Tesla reportedly is offering a limited-time loan incentive to buy Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, with the annualized interest rate starting at 3.65%. For Model S and X EVs, the loan rate is 2.5% annually, translating to an annualized rate of 4.58%.
Why It’s Important: Tesla’s steep price cuts enacted in the first half of 2023 did not kickstart demand in a big way. The string of price cuts only served to erode the company’s core auto margin, excluding regulatory credits.
Tesla China sales began to pick up some momentum in the second half of the year. Weekly China insured registrations data for Tesla EVs came in at 18,500 for the week of Dec. 18-24, with the quarterly tally exceeding the previous record of 156,700 with a week still to go, according to reports last week.
Tesla is due to report its global fourth-quarter deliveries before the market open Tuesday. The company does not break down deliveries by geography.
Chinese EV manufacturers reported on Monday robust deliveries for December and the fourth quarter.
Tesla ended Friday’s session down 1.86% at $248.48, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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