China could become Tesla’s biggest market
Business & Technology
Top business and technology news for March 2, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup "Don’t meet Trump until 'his head is covered with bumps' — PLA adviser"
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Tesla’s China sales triple to more than $1 billion / Bloomberg
The electric-car maker Tesla tripled its revenue in China to more than $1 billion last year, indicating that the country could become the company’s biggest market. While sales from the U.S. doubled to more than $4.2 billion last year, China accounted for more than 15 percent of Tesla’s more than $7 billion of total revenue, according to a U.S. regulatory filing. When the company first entered China in 2014, it faced many obstacles such as the lack of charging stations and slow deliveries. Tesla later introduced converters that allow owners to power their vehicles at state-run charging points.
Tesla is unquestionably a premium brand in China, but as in the U.S., there are plenty of critics. On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, some people question whether the company can produce cars that are absolutely “pollution free” while others express concerns (in Chinese) over the lifespan of Tesla batteries. Tesla also faces a formidable array of competitors that make electric cars in China.
- He traveled the world on frequent flyer miles, now his app helps others do it / Tech in Asia
- Opinion: China’s private companies are unjustly labeled as Communist Party plants / The Conversation
- China property giant Wanda partners with UnionPay to expand mobile payment scheme / SCMP
- Can the head of China’s stock market watchdog hunt down crocodiles? / SCMP
