Tesla Motors has tried tirelessly to get into China’s EV market to no avail. As of November 2015, the BYD Qin is still the best-selling electric vehicle in the whole country, and there may not be any room for the American car maker in the foreseeable future.
Elon Musk’s company had a tough 2015 in China. It had a lot of tax breaks that went in favor of domestic car makers, complicated local license-plate laws, and it also faced a lot of copycats. This happens to most U.S. startups that try to go into the Chinese market. But it has been particularly rough on Elon Musk’s car company. Tesla only sold 3,500 cars in China last year, and they cut 30% of their staff in the country in March of this year.
Will Tesla Have a Turning Point?
This October, Elon Musk expressed intention to open a manufacturing facility on Chinese soil. This would make Model S cars made in China significantly cheaper and more accessible to Chinese clients. They also announced plans to streamline Beijing’s license plate lottery for Tesla buyers. As such, 2016 could be Tesla’s best year in the country yet.
BYD Is Beating Out Tesla In a Big Way
The Chinese government has set a goal to put 5 million electric cars on Chinese roads by 2020 in their efforts. Tesla, after the title of #1 electric car company in the world, Tesla is getting mighty competitive to help China get there. Its main competition is BYD, and its model, the BYD Qin, has outsold every other electric car on the Chinese market. It’s not going to be an easy feat.
Tesla’s Way into China is Through Charging Stations
Tesla has to adapt to the Chinese way of travel. They may need to install accessible charging stations for their cars, and figure a way around Chinese parking. Owning a parking garage isn’t very common in Chinese cities, which is a great inconvenience to the American carmaker.
There’s also the competition it has to face. BYD has had two of their models ahead of every other electric car maker in the world in China. It doesn’t look like that’s about to change, but knowing Elon Musk, we might be surprised to see what happens in the company within the next few years.
