Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA, ETR:TL0) was down almost 1% in Monday’s pre-market trading as aggressive price cuts by key Chinese rival BYD appeared to plot its plans to take further market share.
Almost every single electric and hybrid BYD model has seen prices cut in the latest move, as the Chinese manufacturer looks to market vehicles based on an “electricity is cheaper than oil” slogan.
BYD has already overtaken Tesla based on global electric vehicle sales, with the latest round of cuts coming after Tesla appeared to start reversing on its own year-long trend of slashing prices last week.
BYD’s most affordable electric Seagull hatchback has been cut 5% to 69,800 yuan US$9,677 under the move, more than US$50,000 below the average price of an EV in America.
The top-selling Qin Plus sedan was reduced by 20% to a starting price of 79,800 yuan.
Such moves also look to target Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM), Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) and Nissan, after BYD took over Tesla during the final quarter of last year.
Tesla slipped 0.9% to US$169.33 on the news.