Investing.com -- Shares in Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) slipped in premarket U.S. trading after the electric vehicle (EV) giant said shipments of its China-made cars had dropped to a 14-month low in February.
Deliveries of EVs made at Tesla's plant in Shanghai declined by 19% year-on-year to 60,365, the lowest level since December 2022, likely due to disruptions caused by the Lunar New Year holidays.
The drop came as the firm engaged in a bitter price war with its Chinese peers to capture the world’s largest EV market. Last week, Tesla introduced just under $5,000 worth of new incentives in a bid to entice Chinese customers to buy its Model Y and Model 3 cars.
Weakening demand also brings up the prospect of more price cuts in the country -- a trend that bodes poorly for all EV players in China, given that it has eaten into profit margins.
Shares of Chinese electric vehicle makers, including BYD (SZ:002594) (HK:1211), Nio (HK:9866), Xpeng (HK:9868) and Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) (HK:2015), also fell on Tuesday in Hong Kong trade.
BYD had overtaken Tesla as the best-selling EV maker in December, with the firm seemingly commanding a much stronger sales presence in its home market. The company’s February sales decreased by 37%, but remained well ahead of Tesla by overall volume.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.