By Michael Elkins
The German motor authority, KBA reported Friday that the number of new Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicles registered in Germany rose in January by 912.2% from last year's figures to 4,241. Tesla models now make up 2.4% of all new registrations in Germany.
According to the China Passenger Car Association, the company also sold 66,051 China-made electric vehicles in January. Up 18% from December, when the U.S. electric car maker sold 55,796 China-made vehicles, and 10% higher versus January last year. The company now plans to step up output at its Shanghai plant over the next two months to meet demand spurred by price cuts early last month
The January 2023 figure is the largest year-on-year jump registered among carmakers selling in Germany that month, up from just 419 in the same month last year, according to the KBA.
Tesla cut its prices in Germany in mid-January by about 1% to almost 17% on the Model 3 and the Model Y and pushed back delivery times by around a month. However, the impact of these price cuts will likely only be seen in registration figures later in the quarter given delivery times of one to three months.
According to a report by Reuters, a Tesla sales official said on Friday that the EV giant has cut prices of some of its car models in South Korea. This would be the second straight month Tesla has lowered prices.
The price of the basic Model 3 rear-wheel drive vehicle was listed as KRW 59.9 million ($48,728.50) on the company's website on Friday, down more than 5% from a month earlier. Its Model Y Performance sports utility vehicle was KRW 82.69M, down nearly 13% from the January listing price of KRW 94.73M.
The Tesla official confirmed the new prices of the models.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Tesla plans to step up output at its Shanghai plant over the next two months to meet demand ignited by aggressive price cuts on its best-selling models.
Shares of TSLA are up 1.06% in pre-market trading on Friday.