Deliveries have recently fallen at the successful electric car manufacturer Tesla. Nevertheless, the industry pioneer took back first place from the Chinese BYD group.
Tesla posted its first decline in deliveries since the coronavirus pandemic last quarter. The company, run by tech billionaire Elon Musk, said it delivered 386,810 of its electric cars to customers between January and March. In the same quarter last year there were almost 423,000. Analysts had expected an average increase to a good 449,000 deliveries for the first quarter of 2024. Tesla shares, which have already been weak this year, temporarily fell by more than five percent in early US trading on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, Tesla took back the top spot in the global electric car business from the Chinese manufacturer BYD. BYD delivered a good 300,000 battery-powered vehicles in the first quarter. In the final quarter of 2023, the Chinese car manufacturer overtook Tesla and amazed the industry.
In the past few months, Tesla had to temporarily suspend production in Grünheide near Berlin due to delivery bottlenecks for components caused by the rerouting of ships following attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and an attack on the factory’s power supply. In the large factory in California, production was switched to a newer version of the best-selling Model 3. A total of 433,371 vehicles were built, Tesla announced on Tuesday. In the same quarter last year there were 440,808.
After Tesla deliveries have repeatedly increased significantly in recent years, doubts have recently increased about the pace of growth in the electric car market. In the USA, car buyers are increasingly turning to combustion and hybrid vehicles; in China, Tesla is facing more competition from domestic manufacturers.
The Model 3 and the Model Y compact SUV accounted for around 96 percent of deliveries. Tesla did not provide any figures for the new electric pickup “Cybertruck,” which has been sold in the USA for several months.
Source: Stern
