Tesla expected to report weaker sales as competitor BYD breaks records
Tesla is expected to report a drop in quarterly sales on Tuesday as the slowdown in the electric car market continues.
Electric car-maker Tesla is expected to report another quarter of weaker sales as its main Chinese competitor BYD sees a record number of units sold.
Analysts are estimating Tesla will report on Tuesday it handed more than 441,019 new vehicles between April and June — a drop of 5.4% compared to the same period last year. This would mark the second quarterly decline in a row for the company.
Tesla has turned the page on several of the issues that contributed to its struggles early this year, including a suspected arson attack at its factory near Berlin and shipping diversions related to conflict in the Red Sea.
That leaves the company with few excuses for its sales slowdown aside from a relatively straightforward problem: Tesla’s older lineup of vehicles is having a harder time keeping up with fresher offerings from rival electric car manufacturers.
The company’s chief executive Elon Musk has tried all sorts of moves to stoke demand, including slashing prices and offering cut-rate leasing deals. But the discounting did not stop the company’s sales from decelerating in the second half of last year.
All this comes as new data, compiled by Bloomberg, shows BYD sold a record number of electric and hybrid cars between April and June. China’s best-selling car brand sold nearly one million models over the three months.
In just electric car sales, it sold 426,000 units, putting it within striking distance of overtaking Tesla as the biggest seller of electric cars globally again.
However, BYD is facing its own headwinds. Pushback from the US and, more recently, the EU over China’s electric car exports could undermine the company’s global ambitions.
In Europe, sales are sluggish even before additional tariffs are fully imposed on July 4.
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