By Hyunjoo Jin, Ethan Wang and Christoph Steitz
BEIJING/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Tesla has slashed prices in several of its key markets – including China and Germany – after price cuts in the United States – due to falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles. , especially against cheaper Chinese EVs.
The price cuts come after Elon Musk's EV maker reported this month that its global vehicle deliveries fell for the first time in nearly four years in the first quarter.
Tesla cut the starting price of the updated Model 3 in China by 14,000 yuan ($1,930) to 231,900 yuan ($32,000), its official website showed on Sunday.
In Germany, the automaker has cut the price of its rear-wheel drive Model 3 to 40,990 euros ($43,670.75) from 42,990 euros, the price it has had since February.
A Tesla spokeswoman said the price reductions have also taken place in several countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The automaker cut the US prices of its Model Y, Model X and Model S vehicles by $2,000 on Friday. On Saturday it cut the price of its fully self-driving assistant software from $12,000 to $8,000 in the US.
The EV maker has been slow to refresh its aging models as high interest rates have dampened consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in China, the world's biggest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models.
This weekend, Musk postponed a planned trip to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing commitments at Tesla. The trip included an announcement of Tesla's plans to enter the South Asian market, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Last Monday, Musk said Tesla would lay off more than 10% of its global workforce for its first-year delivery slowdown.
The announcement comes after Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla had abandoned plans to develop its long-awaited affordable EV in favor of robotaxis. After the report, Musk tweeted, “Reuters lies,” without citing any inaccuracies. He didn't say more about the model, leaving investors clamoring for clarity.
Tesla shares are down 40.8% so far this year.
($1 = 7.2403 Chinese Yuan Renminbi)
($1 = 0.9386 euros)
(Reporting by Ethan Wang, Bernard Orr and Hyunju Jin; Additional writing by Michael Perry, William Mallard and Frances Kerry; Editing by Tom Sims)
