Unlike our US market, imported cars sold in China are heavily taxed based on multiple factors such as the engine’s displacement.
But apparently the tax policy does not work on electric cars. Yesterday Tesla released its product pricing for Chinese market. The Model S 60kWh carries a price tag of RMB 648,000 (around USD $103,885 using today’s FX rate). Do not be surprised about the USD equivalent value, because cars are way more expensive in China. For example the Lexus GS350 FSport’s MSRP in China is RMB 780,000 (around USD $125,046).
In US, a Lexus GS350 FSport MSRP = $53,280, a Tesla Model S 60kWh MSRP = $69,900; In China, after converting to USD, the GS350 is sold for $125,046, and the Tesla is “only” asking for $103,885.
Therefore for Chinese customer, the Tesla Model S is actually a bargin.
In China, people usually do not live in single family houses or condos (instead they live in apartments, or multi-family residences). If the buyer has made arrangement with the apartment management, Tesla China promises to install the charger for free.
There is also local incentives available to Chinese customer too. For example Shanghai city is releasing 3,000 free license plate for Tesla, which saves customer another RMB 70,000 – 100,000.
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