https://arab.news/2k6k5
- EV maker likely to post another record quarter
SAN FRANCISCO: Electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc. is preparing to launch a revamped version of its Model Y from its Shanghai plant, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The move was first reported by Reuters in March when three sources said Tesla was readying a production revamp of the Model Y, expected to start production in 2024.
Record deliveries
Tesla is expected to post another record quarter for EV deliveries, likely shy of an ambitious 2 million annual internal target that CEO Elon Musk touted at the beginning of the year.
Faced with slowing sales, Tesla leveraged its industry leading margins and slashed prices of its four car models globally in 2023, with a focus on China, where the company has lost market share to locals including BYD.
The price war and slowing EV demand, however, have prompted automakers including Ford Motor to pull back on their electrification plans, leaving Tesla as the undisputed leader in the US and helping its stock more than double this year.
“The fourth quarter is typically the strongest of the year in terms of deliveries for Tesla, we’re expecting that to be the case again this year,” said Garrett Nelson, a senior analyst at CFRA Research.
Tesla likely delivered 1.82 million vehicles globally in 2023, up 37 percent from 2022, with about 473,000 units in the fourth quarter, according to 14 analysts polled by LSEG. The EV maker is expected to report quarterly deliveries and production as early as Tuesday.
In January, Musk said that Tesla has the potential to achieve 2 million deliveries this year, if there was no “freaking force majeure.” But as recently as October, he warned that higher borrowing costs were pressuring demand.
The company, which made a year-end sales push by increasing discounts on its key models, has said it aims to achieve a 50 percent average annual growth rate over multiple years.
Going into 2024, the EV market leader will have to contend with the loss of federal tax credits for some of its cars in the US as well as in Germany, where the government is prematurely ending its EV subsidy program.
This may force more price cuts next year even though interest rates and battery ingredient costs are expected to ease.