Tesla said it has no plans to sell the Cybertruck in China for now, after previous rumors that the electric pickup could be brought to the country through official channels sparked discussion.
Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) electric pickup truck, the Cybertruck, could be a long way off from being introduced to China, despite recent rumors that have sparked much speculation.
Tesla's China team has denied that the Cybertruck would be brought to China through official channels anytime soon, saying it has no plans to sell the model in the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) market, according to a report last night by local media outlet Jiemian.
Tesla's Chinese website shows five models, but only the Cybertruck, which began deliveries late last year, does not offer an ordering option.
Recent rumors that the electric pickup truck could hopefully be introduced to China through official Tesla channels have raised a lot of eyebrows, Jiemian's report noted.
Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in November 2019 and began deliveries of the model on November 30, 2023 in the United States.
In late January, Tesla toured the Cybertruck in several Chinese cities, emphasizing at the time that it was a crossover touring vehicle in an attempt to downplay its pickup truck character.
“Getting Cybertruck road legal in China would be very difficult, but we could ship some prototypes over for display,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on January 14 on X, the social media platform he owns.
Musk didn't mention specific legal hurdles, but pickups are categorized as light trucks in China and are subject to many restrictions compared to passenger car models including sedans, SUVs (sport utility vehicles), and MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles), making sales low.
In the January-October period this year, China's pickup truck sales were 427,000 units, up 2 percent year-on-year, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
As a comparison, passenger cars including sedans, SUVs and MPVs sold 17.84 million units at retail in January-October, up 3.26 percent year-on-year.
On Chinese highways, pickup truck models are not allowed to exceed 100 kilometers per hour. Regular passenger cars can legally travel up to 120 kilometers per hour on highways.
Pickup trucks in China are also required to be used for no more than 15 years and need to be scrapped at the end of that time.
In addition, many Chinese cities have restrictions on pickup trucks entering urban areas, although these restrictions have been reduced over the past few years.
Due to the Chinese market's restrictions on pickup truck models and body safety regulations, Tesla would need to spend quite a bit of money to tweak the vehicle if it were to bring the Cybertruck to China, and the sales potential could be very limited, Jiemian's report noted.
In terms of appearance, the odds are that the Cybertruck will not be able to retain its current unique styling in order to become compliant in China, according to the report.
The Cybertruck's exterior design will not be able to meet China's regulatory standards, and its special sheet metal material and sharp design will pose a challenge to pedestrian safety and protection, Jiemian cited Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, as saying.
Tesla currently sells the Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X in China, with the Model 3 and Model Y being produced locally at its Shanghai plant.
With the Model Y selling well, the Chinese market has become Tesla's second-largest global market after the US.
In January-October, Tesla delivered 500,685 vehicles in China, up 8.29 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
The Model Y delivered 373,852 vehicles in China from January to October, contributing 74.67 percent of Tesla's deliveries in China during the same period.
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