Tesla cars are selling like hot cakes in the US, crushing all competitors

Tesla Model 3 was the only electric car that could be called a "hot seller" in the United States in 2019, crushing all its competitors.

Tesla Model 3 sales in the U.S. were close to 160,000 last year. Even as other automakers pour billions of dollars into launching new electric models, they still have a long way to go to catch up with Tesla.

Tesla has room for price cuts after localization, agency predicts Model 3 price may drop to 197,000 yuan

Recently, a well-known domestic brokerage firm released a research report showing that after Tesla adopts domestic supply chain, the domestic Model 3 will have a price reduction space of 27% to 34% based on the current original price, and the lowest price may be as low as 197,000 yuan.

In fact, in the past 2019, Tesla completed the construction of the Shanghai Super Factory and the localization of the Model 3 in China at an "astonishing" speed.

According to data from Securities Daily, Tesla delivered 255,200 vehicles worldwide in the first three quarters of 2019, exceeding its full-year sales in 2018. Among them, Model 3 deliveries reached 208,200 vehicles, accounting for 82% of total sales.

It is worth mentioning that Tesla's revenue in the US market was $3.127 billion, down 39.08% year-on-year, while in China, Tesla's revenue was as high as $669 million, up 64% year-on-year. Thanks to the strong performance of the Chinese market, Tesla turned a profit in the third quarter.

Tesla revealed that the domestically produced Model 3 will be officially delivered to the public on January 7. If nothing unexpected happens, the company's CEO Elon Musk will personally attend the delivery ceremony for social car owners on that day.

According to brokerage reports, since the production cost of the domestically produced Model 3 is 20% to 28% lower than that of the US version, the gross profit margin of the domestically produced Model 3 is significantly higher than that of the Model 3 produced in the United States.

The reporter noted that the current price of the domestically produced Model 3 after subsidies is 299,050 yuan. If the price is reduced by 27% to 34%, the lowest price of the domestically produced Model 3 may drop to 197,000 yuan. In this way, domestic new energy vehicle brands will undoubtedly face a direct impact.

Not long ago, Tesla China officially announced that the price of the domestically produced Model 3 was officially reduced by 32,000 yuan. Combined with the 24,750 yuan national subsidy, the final price of the domestically produced Model 3 standard range upgrade model, which originally cost 355,800 yuan, was lowered to below 300,000 yuan.

Although the localization of Model 3 will significantly lower the price and benefit domestic consumers, according to the reporter's observation, domestic suppliers are currently mainly concentrated in three major areas: powertrain system, central control system and charging system. In terms of the core supply chain, the participation rate is not as high as the outside world imagines.

For example, in the powertrain part, although Ganfeng Lithium, a Chinese lithium compound and lithium metal producer, has entered Tesla's supply chain, it mainly provides lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, raw materials for automotive batteries.

In comparison, in the field of key components such as lithium battery packs, local battery packs supplied for domestic Tesla models began production at the end of December last year, equipped with Panasonic and LG products; in terms of complex firmware such as electronic power steering, Tesla uses Tier 1 companies such as Bosch; and in Tesla's self-developed BMS and autonomous driving, it is even more difficult to find Chinese suppliers.

In this regard, a senior automotive analyst told reporters that compared with the supply chain systems of other new energy vehicles and traditional vehicles, Tesla has obvious characteristics such as three-year price lock for parts procurement, high degree of system outsourcing, high proportion of automotive electronic intelligence, and demonstration of Apple-like industrial chain. After taking multiple measures, it not only gives parts companies a greater profit space, but also greatly saves the company's operating costs and promotes the development of the automotive electronics industry chain.

He said that Tesla built a supply chain system from scratch, providing quality endorsement for a group of new parts suppliers. In the future, it will definitely bring a "demonstration effect" to traditional fuel vehicle companies, traditional electric vehicle companies, and new car-making forces.