Faced with uncertain demand for electric vehicles, Tesla has significantly lowered the price of the Model Y across Europe. A week ago, the car company also implemented a price reduction measure in China.
Tesla's official website data shows that it has lowered prices in markets such as Germany and France.
In Germany, Tesla has lowered the prices of its Model Y Long Range Edition and Model Y High Performance Edition by 5000 euros to 49990 euros and 55990 euros, respectively, which are 9% and 8.1% cheaper than their previous prices. The price of the Model Y rear wheel drive model has also decreased by 4.2%.
In France, Tesla has lowered the selling price of Model Y by 6.7%; In Denmark, prices have decreased by up to 10.8%. In the Netherlands, Tesla has lowered the selling price of Model Y by 7.7%; In Norway, prices have been lowered by 5.6% to 7.1%.
Slow demand for electric vehicles
Although Tesla did not provide a reason for the price reduction, the overall demand for electric vehicles has been slowing due to the reduction of national subsidies and high borrowing costs, which have prompted buyers to reconsider purchasing large items.
According to data from the German Federal Automobile Administration (KBA), a total of 524219 new electric vehicles were put on the road in Germany in 2023, an increase of 11.4% compared to 2022, and sales growth has slowed down. Tesla's new car registration in Germany decreased by 9% to 63685 vehicles, and its market share dropped to 12.1%
This has caused Tesla to lose its title as the largest electric vehicle seller in Germany, replaced by Volkswagen, which holds 13.5% of the market share.
In the past year, the competition in the electric vehicle market has been heating up, and Tess Lamian Noodles faces challenges from many other automobile manufacturers. In 2023, Chinese automaker BYD replaced Tesla as the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer.
Tesla's stock price has had an unfavorable start to 2024
These price reductions, combined with UBS Group and Wells Fargo Bank lowering their target prices respectively, dragged Tesla's stock price down by about 2% on Wednesday. This further worsened the stock's poor start in 2024. Since the beginning of the year, Tesla's stock price has fallen by over 13%.
On Wednesday, Wells Fargo Bank and UBS lowered their Tesla stock target prices by over 8% and nearly 11% respectively.
Tesla announced last Thursday that it will suspend most of its car production at its factory near Berlin from January 29th to February 11th, citing a change in transportation routes due to the Red Sea vessel being attacked, resulting in a shortage of parts.
The German electric vehicle subsidy program was originally scheduled to last until the end of 2024, but ended early last month, which was a blow to Tesla.