Tesla insurance registrations in China declined after four straight weeks of growth, but the U.S.-based EV giant is approaching record monthly China deliveries. TSLA shares dropped Tuesday.
Tesla had 15,886 insurance registrations for the week of March 20 to 26, down 15% from the 18,712 in the prior week. Registrations provide a de facto measure of new car sales in China. So far in March, Tesla vehicle insurance registrations in China total 64,896, approaching the global EV giant's China deliveries record of 77,938 set in June 2022.
Tesla will release first-quarter global delivery and production data in early April. Wall Street expects around 430,000 Tesla deliveries, a new high.
Tesla slashed prices in China on Jan. 6, following big cuts in late October. The EV giant also significantly reduced prices in the U.S. and Europe on Jan. 13. In the U.S., Tesla also is benefiting from new tax credits. The company reduced European prices again in early March, while it's also had further U.S. discounts for the Model S and X.
Until last week, Tesla insurance registrations in China increased steadily since that number nearly doubled for the week of Feb. 20-26. The EV company's past-week China insurance registrations jumped 48%, compared to the month-ago number of 10,705 for Feb. 20-26. Registrations throughout much of February lagged due to the country's Lunar New Year holiday.
The Competition
Last week, China insurance registrations for all passenger vehicles totaled 400,400, up nearly 38% compared to last year, according to CnEVPost.
Tesla's top competitor BYD recorded rising insurance registrations for a second straight week.
BYD had 43,490 total insurance registrations, up 13% compared to the week prior and the best showing in 2023. The China-based auto giant saw its insurance registrations drop in back to back weeks between for the week of Feb. 27 to March 12. BYD has trimmed prices on many models, joining China's big price war started by Tesla.
Meanwhile, BYD's premium Denza unit had 2,227 registrations, a new high.
BYD and Denza will unveil several new models at the Shanghai Auto Show next month.
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China-EV startups Li Auto saw registrations fall 6% to 5,081. Nio registrations grew 7% to 1,909 and XPeng registrations jumped 20% to 1,564. All appear to be on track for March and Q1 delivery targets.
TSLA Stock
Tesla stock edged down 1.4% to 189.14 Tuesday during market trade. On Monday, TSLA stock climbed 0.7% to 191.81 Monday, paring intraday gains.
Since March 13, Tesla stock has gained around 10% even as the failures of SVB Financial, Signature Bank of New York and Credit Suisse trigger worries of broader financial instability. At Monday's market close, Tesla stock was down around 6.7% on the month.
Prior to the bank failures, Tesla sold off hard from March 6 to 10, falling 12.3%. However, Tesla stock found support at its 50-day and 10-week moving averages.
Tesla stock is still forging a bottoming base, below the 200-day line. But that key level is now below the potential 217.75 buy point.
Tesla is also now under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over possible seat belt failures. The EV giant is already being investigated for steering wheel issues and and driver-assistance concerns.
Nio, Li Auto and XPeng stock all rose between 3% and 7% Tuesday. BYD stock, which trades over the counter in the U.S., advanced more than 4%.
Tesla stock ranks third in IBD's Auto Manufacturers industry group. TSLA has a 86 Composite Rating out of 99. Tesla stock also has a 67 Relative Strength Rating. The EPS Rating is 99.
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