BEIJING (Reuters) – Tesla unveiled new incentives, including insurance subsidies, on Friday to woo consumers in the world’s largest auto market, where the U.S. electric vehicle giant is in a protracted price war against entrenched rivals such as BYD.
Pickups of existing inventories of Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs by the end of March would be entitled to a maximum of 34,600 yuan ($4,807.76) worth of incentives, Tesla said in a post on its Weibo account.
Among the incentives are a 8,000 yuan discount in car insurance products with partnerships with Tesla, and a 10,000 yuan discount if the buyer chooses a change of paint.
Tesla also offers limited-time preferential financing plans that could save up to 16,600 yuan for purchases of Model Y.
When asked about the amount of inventory Tesla had in China, a sales representative said it was limited, but declined to provide details.
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In the face of slowing demand and rising competition, Tesla slashed prices on some Model 3 and Y cars in China in January and offered cash discounts for some Model Ys from Feb. 1.
Its biggest local rival BYD on Friday lowered the starting price of a new version of its Song Pro hybrid SUV by 15.4%.
BYD, which dethroned Tesla as the world’s top EV maker in Q4, had responded with even bigger discounts on an array of new car versions in February.
($1 = 7.1967 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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