Tesla registrations continue to decline, but that won’t stop it from dominating electric vehicle sales

Good morning! Today is Friday, May 17, 2024 and here it is Morning shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.

Device One: Tesla’s sales drop another 12%

Tesla may have scored a bit of a victory yesterday when it was reported that the Cybertruck officially the second best-selling electric pickup truck truck in the US, but it’s not quite Just got out of the woods. After reporting a sharp 25% drop in new vehicle registrations in February, The decline is continuing for electric vehicle manufacturers.

In March, Tesla reported that The number of new vehicle registrations has decreased increased by 12% over the same period last year, report Automotive news. In total, more than 50,000 new Tesla vehicles were registered in March in the US. EQUAL Automotive news explain:

Data shows Tesla had a 12% drop in registrations in March compared to the same month last year to 50,474. In February, Tesla fell 25% compared to the previous month.

“There are a lot of other brands that we know are coming [with EVs] and they are here and they are competing,” said Tom Libby, vice president of industry analysis at S&P Global Mobility. “When Tesla had 80% of the electric vehicle market, the conventional thinking was that it couldn’t survive.”

S&P Global Mobility said Tesla’s market share in the electric vehicle segment fell to 52.4% in March from 61.5% in the same period last year. Tesla accounted for 80% of electric vehicles sold in the US in the 2020 calendar year.

That thing 52.4% market share Of course, that means Tesla’s decline isn’t enough to take away its title as America’s best-selling electric vehicle maker. In fact, the company has gone so far that it has almost no competition at all.

While Tesla failed to sell 50,000 new electric vehicles, Ford is struggling to reach 10,000 electric vehicles sold in second place. Behind it is Hyundai, transferred 5,686 electric cars in March and BMW sold 4,246 electric car models.

Device 2: China clears the way for Tesla’s self-driving vehicle deployment

Here in America, deploys Tesla’s advanced driver assistance featuresAutopilot and Full Self-Driving, have encountered many problems. There have been fatal accidents, the video shows the car equipped with technology becoming the means of transportation and even the adoption of the word most users won’t pay for this feature. But that won’t stop boss Elon Musk from rolling out the features in new markets, and now it looks like China could be next.

It is known that Musk went to China earlier this year to try and establish the expansion of Autopilot to the market, but faced a number of data protection hurdles before his plans could be implemented. Currently, Reuters reports that lawmakers in Shanghai has begun to pave the way for Autopilot and FSD to enter China.

Currently, safety data is collected in China cannot be shared outside This country has been a key point for Tesla wanting access to any FSD information it collects. However, lawmakers have drafted a pilot program that would allow some companies to share some “critical” data abroad. As Reuters explains:

The Shanghai government, China’s market and business capital, has compiled the first batch of “common sense data” in three sectors – smart and connected vehicles, mutual funds and biomedicine. Government documents say these require the least amount of regulation for data transfers.

Under the year-long pilot project, companies registered in the city’s Lingang Free Trade Zone, where Tesla’s Shanghai factory is located, can transfer listing data abroad without further security assessment is needed, according to documents shared with participating companies. whitelist announcement event in Shanghai.

Once the trial period is in effect, Tesla will be able to share research and development data collected in China overseas for its teams in the US. There, it can be used to fine-tune and train the FSD and Autopilot systems.

Device 3: Stellantis joint venture will sell Chinese-made electric vehicles

While we’re talking about China, let’s check with Jeep Stellantis ownersupposedly planned began supplying Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of a new joint venture being undertaken, according to Detroit Free Press.

The Alfa Romeo boss has a plan to start offers affordable Chinese-made electric vehicle models in nine European countries, as well as select international markets including India and Australia. The move is part of a new agreement between Stellantis and EV startup Leapmotor. Like Free press explain:

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares explained in a follow-up discussion that the fact that there are no Chinese electric vehicles sold in the United States has impacted strategy, but he also noted the impact of tariffs. The Biden administration on Tuesday announced significant new tariffs on electric vehicles and other products from China.

“There is no real Chinese competition in the U.S. market right now,” he said, noting that Europe is a different case. “It seems like the US is pursuing very strong protectionism while currently Europe is keeping the market reasonably open with a lower tax rate of 10%.”

These cars will initially be sold in countries like the Netherlands and Germany, and the decision to bring them to the US will depend on tariffs, reports Free press. This week, the Biden administration tightened one 100% tax on electric vehicles made in China and increased tariffs on other products, affecting more than $18 billion worth of Chinese goods.

4th gear: Toyota’s Mexican factory is short of workers

Afterward closed production lines at its facilities in Japan last year, it is now reported that Toyota’s factories in Mexico have also stopped production. However, instead of as the result of computer problemsthe shutdown in Mexico was due to a lack of workers.

Toyota’s factories in Tijuana, Mexico, were shut down for 19 days from February to March. reports Reuters. The shutdown comes after local labor shortages hit output and suppliers of essential components. As Reuters explains:

According to the two people, Toyota stopped production for a total of 19 days in February and March at the plant in Tijuana, Mexico, where it makes Tacoma pickup trucks. They said technical problems at the plant were also a factor in the shutdown.

Reuters spoke to four people at the suppliers and Toyota. All declined to reveal their identities because the information had not been made public.

Toyota is currently working with several suppliers to ease tensions. However, some component makers can barely maintain production because of a lack of workers, one person said.

At the factory in Mexico, Toyota assembles a model similar to the Tacoma for the US market. So far, the company has not commented on what the slowdown will mean for Tacoma orders in the US.

Neutral: Heading into the race?

I’ve been looking through my summer plans this week and so far there’s been a shortage of races scheduled, are you on the same page or have you got tickets to all the hottest races? If so, where are you headed and what are you most excited to see?

On the radio: Alexandra Savior – “Mirage”