Category: Tesla

Tesla says rumors that FSD will start pilot run in Shanghai untrue

There were rumors over the weekend that FSD would be running in Shanghai on a pilot basis, but this was denied.

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Rumors over the weekend that Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) will start a pilot run in Shanghai have been denied.

"The information is not true," local media outlet Cailian said in a brief report today, citing a response from Tesla China about the rumors.

On May 12, a Shanghai official said the city would further deepen its cooperation with Tesla and promote the electric vehicle (EV) maker's self-driving and robotics businesses in Shanghai.

Shanghai will work with Tesla to build a technology industry cluster with core technology advantages for the global market, Chen Kele, deputy director of the intelligent manufacturing promotion division at Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, said at the time.

Chen did not directly mention Tesla's FSD at the time, although it was the first hint of support from Chinese officials for Tesla's software.

Before that, local media outlet Caixin said in an April 3 report that Tesla was about to begin widespread testing of FSD in China.

All Tesla vehicles currently come with the free Basic Autopilot (BAP) software. In addition, Tesla also offers Enhanced Autopilot (EAP), FSD software as an option.

EAP and FSD cost $6,000 and $15,000 in the US, and RMB 32,000 ($4,480) and RMB 64,000 in China, respectively.

On June 9, CITIC Securities analyst Lian Yixi's team said that the trend of Tesla FSD entering China is becoming clearer, which is expected to accelerate the intelligent process of local EVs.

However, this is still facing two major problems from becoming a reality -- data collection qualification and supercomputing centers, according to the team.

Also on June 9, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, that the company would be happy to license Autopilot/FSD or other Tesla technology.

This is the first mention of FSD on Musk's Weibo account since 2021, although the account appears to be managed by Tesla's team in Beijing. The Tesla CEO visited China earlier this month and met with several top Chinese officials.

($1 = RMB 7.1452)

Analysts list 2 major issues Tesla must address before bringing FSD to China

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Tesla delivers 42,508 vehicles in China in May, taking 7.3% share of NEV market

ranked third in the CPCA's NEV retail sales rankings, with and in first and second place with 38.1 percent and 7.8 percent shares, respectively.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) retail sales in China in May were 42,508 units, ranking third in the country's new energy vehicle (NEV) market with a 7.3 percent share, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on June 9.

That's up 332.65 percent from 9,825 units in the same month last year and up 6.39 percent from 39,956 units in April, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

BYD's retail sales in May were 220,735 units, up 94.0 percent year-on-year, placing it first in the NEV market with a 38.1 percent share, according to the CPCA's ranking.

Tesla has a factory in Shanghai, its largest in the world, producing the Model 3 and Model Y, with an annual capacity of more than 1.1 million units.

Model 3 and Model Y breakdown sales figures in China are not yet available. Tesla's pattern is to produce vehicles in the first half of each quarter primarily for export and in the second half for the local market.

China's new energy passenger vehicle retail sales in May were 580,000 units, including 388,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 192,000 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), data released by the CPCA on June 8 showed.

This means that Tesla's share of the BEV market in China was 10.96 percent in May, slightly higher than April's 10.8 percent. It had a slightly lower share of the NEV market in May than the 7.58 percent it had in April.

Tesla's Shanghai plant exported 35,187 vehicles in May, considering the CPCA said on June 5 that Tesla sold 77,695 China-made vehicles in May.

That export figure was up 57.51 percent year-on-year but down 1.95 percent from April, CnEVPost's calculations show.

In the ranking released yesterday by the CPCA, GAC Aion came in second with a 7.8 percent share of May retail sales at 45,003 units, up 113.7 percent year-on-year.

SAIC-GM-Wuling ranked fourth with a 6.3 percent share of May retail sales, up 13.7 percent to 36,253 units.

ranked fifth with a 4.9 percent share of May retail sales, up 146.0 percent to 28,277 units.

ranked sixth with a 4.4 percent share, Changan Auto ranked seventh with a 4.2 percent share, Great Wall Motor ranked eighth with a 3.6 percent share, Leapmotor ranked ninth with a 2.1 percent share and Auto ranked 10th with a 1.9 percent share.

CPCA rankings: Top-selling automakers in China in May

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Top-selling cars in May 2023 in China – BYD first, Volkswagen second, Toyota third

According to the data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the Chinese market witnessed the sale of 1.742 million new cars in May 2023. This represents a 7% increase compared to the previous month. Notably, among these sales, 388,000 were electric vehicles (EVs), and 192,000 were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), collectively known […]

The post Top-selling cars in May 2023 in China – BYD first, Volkswagen second, Toyota third appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.

Analysts list 2 major issues Tesla must address before bringing FSD to China

While the overall trend is for FSD to enter China, there are still two major issues before it becomes a reality -- data collection eligibility and supercomputing centers, according to CITIC Securities.

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A Chinese official's remarks a month ago sparked much anticipation for to bring FSD (Full Self-Driving) to China.

However, Tesla still has a lot of work to do if it makes this a reality. A team of local analysts shared their views in a new research note.

The trend of Tesla FSD entering China is becoming clearer, which is expected to accelerate the progress of intelligence in local electric vehicles (EVs), said a team of CITIC Securities analyst Lian Yixi in a research note today.

While the overall trend is for FSD to enter China, it is still two major issues away from becoming a reality -- data collection eligibility and supercomputing centers, according to the team.

Under China's current regulations, high-precision map mapping can only be conducted by qualified entities, and only 19 currently hold the qualification, the team noted.

Moreover, the compilation of electronic maps for navigation is currently open only to local companies, and the transmission of mapping data outside of China must also be approved in advance, the team said.

Map data is highly sensitive and related to national security, and exactly how Tesla should obtain the qualification is still unknown, the team said.

Viable options for Tesla include forming a joint venture with a Chinese company or moving the process forward in Shanghai on a pilot basis, but it would be difficult for it to roll out the effort on a large scale any time soon, according to the team.

In addition to map-related qualifications, Tesla would need to build a supercomputing center in China.

The pure vision route for autonomous driving relies more on massive data collection and model training for image processing, so Tesla built Dojo, a supercomputing center in the US, and developed its own D1 chip to improve the training efficiency of FSD, CITIC Securities noted.

And in China, even if Tesla obtains the data acquisition qualification, the probability is that it can only train the model locally in China and the data may not be allowed to be transmitted back to the US, the team said.

This means that to achieve the same training efficiency as in the US, Tesla would need to establish a supercomputing center in China similar to Dojo, which would require a certain development cycle and cost, according to the team.

Despite these two major issues, CITIC Securities believes that if Tesla succeeds in bringing FSD to China, it will benefit the overall intelligence of China's EVs, helping to strengthen consumer education, expand the market, and accelerate the process of letting the best win out.

The entry of FSD into China is likely to significantly strengthen consumers' awareness of the intelligence of cars and develop their daily needs and habits for smart driving, which is expected to allow the market to expand significantly in China, the team said.

It is also important to note that if Tesla introduces the highly profitable FSD to China, it has the potential to further reduce the prices of its vehicles and could launch a lower-priced Model 2/Q, with pricing likely in the RMB 150,000 ($21,070) to RMB 200,000 range, according to the team.

If such a scenario emerges, cost pressures on local low- and mid-range models would be further exacerbated, when obtaining a low-priced but qualified smart driving software from a third-party supplier could become a mainstream option for car companies with weaker R&D capabilities, the team said.

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Shanghai official hints at support for Tesla's FSD rollout in China

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