Tesla Is Being Outsold in China by This $4,500 Car
A budget electric vehicle from China is becoming a fast seller in a country with the world's largest population.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is facing stiff competition from a budget-friendly carmaker in Tesla's second-biggest market, according to BBC.
While Elon Musk's company still maintains a significant share of the electric vehicle market with the popularity of its Model 3 car, a $4,500 car from state-owned company SAIC Motor is outselling the Model 3 at a two-to-one ratio.
Related: Tesla Is Facing an Unlikely Competitor in the Electric Vehicle Market
Called the Hong Guang Mini EV, the two-door sedan apparently uses a 9.2 kWH battery that will allow it to run for 75 miles. It also has a single electric motor with a 17.4 horsepower and top speed of 62 mph.
As BBC notes, the vehicle is the product of a joint venture between SAIC Motor and General Motors. In the second half of last year, it saw sales of 112,000 and 25,778 models in January of this year alone. Those numbers alone suggest that the Hong Guang Mini EV is now the second-best-selling electric vehicle worldwide behind the Model 3.
Still, Tesla, which cut down the cost of its Model 3 in China to $39,000, is doing well for itself in China, BBC adds. The company more than doubled its sales volume in the country last year.
Written By
Justin Chan
Entrepreneur Staff
Justin Chan is a news writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, he was a trending news editor at Verizon Media, where he covered entrepreneurship, lifestyle, pop culture, and tech. He was also an assistant web editor at Architectural Record, where he wrote on architecture, travel, and design. Chan has additionally written for Forbes, Reader's Digest, Time Out New York, HuffPost, Complex, and Mic. He is a 2013 graduate of Columbia Journalism School, where he studied magazine journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @jchan1109.
