Photo: NIO
NIO, Xpeng Motors and Li Auto all saw their deliveries drop amidst COVID-19 prevention procedures in China, according to a report from the South China Morning Post.
In addition to virus control measures straining supply chains and overall manufacturing, recent price cuts across the Tesla lineup also seemed to contribute to low sales for the three largest electric vehicle (EV) makers in China.
NIO delivered just 10,059 units in October for a 7.5-percent drop from the prior month, while Li Auto sold 10,052 units for a 13-percent drop. Xpeng faced the largest fall, delivering just 5,101 vehicles in a dropoff of 40 percent from September.
Tesla to Unveil Model S Plaid in China on November 5 https://t.co/RxDnPiPr1Z
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) October 31, 2022
“Virus control affected their manufacturing and sales last month,” said Gao Shen, a Shanghai-based analyst. “Tesla’s price cuts have also siphoned off buying interest from Chinese-branded vehicles.”
The news came as several mainland China cities imposed pandemic curbs to attempt to control the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Among the cities included were Guangzhou and Hefei.
Tesla’s price cuts, which saw 5- and 8.8-percent drops on pricing for the Model 3 and Y, respectively, came just months after the automaker’s Shanghai factory upgrade production output.
While Tesla doesn’t report its monthly volume in China, the automaker sold 83,135 units in the country in September, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
