Tesla sales are rising in China thanks to incentives put in place by the automaker on top of state incentives going away by the end of the year.
Is enough to save Tesla’s quarter and its whole year?
Tesla aims to deliver a record number of more than 515,000 vehicles in Q4 in order for its sales not to be down for the whole year. That’s ~30,000 more vehicles than Tesla’s last record quarter, which was Q4 2023.
China is Tesla’s most important market and the world’s most important EV market.
In many ways, the Chinese can make or break Tesla’s record delivery goal for the quarter.
The latest insurance data is in for November, and it points to Tesla delivering just short of 70,000 vehicles – up significantly year-over-year (via Car News China):
However, while Tesla’s domestic sales are up in the Chinese market, Tesla’s wholesale from China (all cars built domestically for both the local market and exports) are down in November.
The domestic results are expected to be even stronger in December due to the incentives in place.
It’s the first time in a while that Tesla is discounting vehicles in China, but the automaker has been offering subsidized 0% interest loans to encourage sales most of the year.
On top of that, China has a ¥20,000 yuan ($2,700 USD) cash for clunkers incentive for people who exchange their older and higher emission vehicles for an electric car. The incentive is going away next year, which is incentivizing EV sales at the end of this year.
Electrek’s Take
Things are looking good for Tesla in China. With this momentum in November and all the incentives in place for December, it will likely be a record quarter for Tesla.
However, the question is whether it will be enough to counter the sales decline in Europe and cover the ~30,000 extra vehicles that Tesla needs to deliver to achieve its goal.
I think China should cover one of those issues, but not both. North America, which is more opaque to track, will have to cover the other.
Tesla has record incentives in place in the US and Canada to address this. I think it has a real shot at delivering 515,000 vehicles in the quarter.
But at what cost, with all these incentives, and what does it mean for Tesla in 2025? I guess that’s a problem for later.
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For the second time, a judge strikes down Elon Musk’s $55 billion Tesla CEO pay package as the company struggles to avoid seeing its sales slip year over year for the first time. Plus: an all-new look for Jaguar this Giving Tuesday on Quick Charge!
We’ve also got record EV sales from both Kia and Hyundai, with the latter seeing IONIQ 5 sales double over last year, more Tesla discounts in China AND North America, and more.
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“Tesla could not meet program standards” on Oklahoma’s NEVI EV charger installation program, so EVgo took over.
As Electrek originally reported in April, Oklahoma approved more than $8 million in federal funds for Tesla, Love’s Travel Stops, and Francis Energy to build DC fast chargers along its interstates.
The three companies were to provide a combined $7 million in private funding match to build 13 DC fast charging stations. The first round of awards would complete the buildout of I-35, I-40, and I-44 as Alternative Fuel Corridors.
Tesla was supposed to install three Superchargers at the I-44 exit 240 in Catoosa, the I-40 exit 240B in Henryetta, and the I-44 exit 125B in Oklahoma City. In order to qualify for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program funding, they had to be equipped with Magic Docks – that is, CCS compatibility.
However, OK Energy Today reports that Oklahoma Transportation Commissioners unanimously approved replacing Tesla with second-place EVgo yesterday.
Jared Schennesen, multi-modal division manager to the nine commissioners, said:
Tesla could not meet program standards for the gap awarded along I-44 in Oklahoma City.
Due to not meeting the program requirements, ODOT required that the award be revoked from Tesla as direct[ed] by state procurement rules and awarded to second-place finisher EVgo for this gap.
Schennesen didn’t specify exactly how Tesla couldn’t meet the program standards, but the article goes on to note that EVgo reduced its costs considerably compared to what Tesla’s project costs were:
EVgo won the award for a total of $519,740, and Schennesen said it reduced the total project cost by $317,932. The federal share of the project will increase by $201,781 bringing the final total to $801,780.
EVgo has more than 1,000 DC fast charging locations in 40 states and serves over 65 metropolitan areas.
Oklahoma’s NEVI EV charger installation program, EVOK, is responsible for spending $66 million from 2022-27 in NEVI Formula Program funds to create a state EV charging network. The federal NEVI program allocates $5 billion over five years to help US states create a network of EV charging stations. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The NEVI program requires EV charging stations to be available every 50 miles and within one travel mile of the Alternative Fuel Corridor. EV charging stations must include at least four ports with connectors capable of simultaneously charging four EVs at 150 kilowatts (kW) each, with a total station power capacity of 600 kW or more.
The charging stations must have 24-hour public accessibility and provide amenities like restrooms, food and beverage, and shelter.
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) says it will loan up to $7.54 billion to a Stellantis and Samsung SDI joint venture to help build two EV lithium-ion battery plants in Indiana.
Stellantis + Samsung EV battery plants loan
The joint venture is called StarPlus Energy LLC, and its huge project will create huge job growth: at least 2,800 jobs at the plants, plus hundreds more for parts suppliers at a nearby park.
At full capacity, the plants will produce about 67 GWh of batteries for Stellantis EVs in Kokomo, enough to supply about 670,000 vehicles annually, the DOE’s Loan Programs Office said. Stellantis said yesterday that the first plant will open in early 2025 and the second in 2027.
To secure the loan, StarPlus needs to implement its Community Benefits Plan, which includes working with community and labor leaders to create well-paying jobs. It’s unclear whether the loan will be able to be finalized before Donald Trump takes office on January 20, but according to the Associated Press, the DOE said “it would be irresponsible for ‘any government to turn its back on private sector partners, states, and communities that are benefiting from lower energy costs and new economic opportunities’ from the loans.”
Electrek’s Take
Since Trump is threatening tariffs all over the place to stimulate domestic manufacturing, it would be pretty dumb if he attempted to kill this loan. The DOE anticipates this and makes a point of saying in its announcement that “the project will greatly expand EV battery manufacturing capacity in North America and reduce America’s reliance on adversarial foreign nations like China, as well as other foreign sourcing of EV batteries.”
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