Over the weekend, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced it will raise the price of U.S. Model Y prices on April 1st as well as of Model Y prices in Europe on March 22nd. In China, Tesla is currently offering fresh inventory discounts for Model Y trims. To maintain the sales momentum, Tesla has been aggressively lowering prices for more than a year. As a result, its auto gross margins, which peaked at 30% during 2021’s fourth quarter amid industry chip shortages, have plunged well below 20%. Even Tesla needs to figure out a way how to make an affordable EV to combat its rivals and the EV market slowdown.
Last summer, XPeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) revealed its plans to launch a brand that’s 50% cheaper to survive a slowing EV market and price war that Tesla ignited. On Saturday, it revealed it will launch its cheaper EV brand within the next month. Last Thursday, Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), Chinese premium EV maker, also revealed the unveiling of its mass market brand will take place ...