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  • Tesla Deliveries Miss Estimates Due To Logistical Issues, Slowing Demand

    Tesla Deliveries Miss Estimates Due To Logistical Issues, Slowing Demand

    Tesla said quarterly deliveries fell short of market estimates on Monday, held back by ongoing logistical issues and growing demand concerns that rounded off a tumultuous 2022 for the Elon Musk-led firm.

    The company is still the world’s most valuable automaker even after losing 65% of its market value in 2022. Shares fell 8.5% to $112 on Tuesday.

    Tesla delivered 405,278 vehicles in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, short of analysts’ estimates of 431,117, according to Refinitiv. For all of 2022, the electric-vehicle maker’s deliveries rose by 40%, missing Musk’s 50% annual target.

    “We believe Tesla is facing a significant demand problem … many investors underestimate the magnitude of the demand challenges Tesla is facing,” Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said.

    The shortfall also highlighted the logistics hurdles facing a company known for its end-of-quarter delivery rush, with the gap between production and deliveries widening to 34,000 vehicles as more cars got stuck in transit.

    Tesla also plans to run a reduced production schedule in January at its Shanghai plant, extending the lowered output it began in December into 2023, Reuters has reported.

    Tesla has tried up prop up demand with a rare set of discounts on its top-selling vehicles as competition deepens from legacy automakers such as Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co and startups such as Rivian Automotive Inc and Lucid Group Inc.

    “Tesla’s previous gains have been based on delivering super-charged growth. Without that it looks (like) a different proposition,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

    Sacconaghi said demand challenges will persist in 2023 as most Tesla models do not qualify for a tax rebate and the company would need to either reduce its growth targets or cut prices.

    The company, which has some of the highest margins in the industry, will report quarterly results on Jan. 25.

    The fourth-quarter deliveries consisted of 388,131 Model 3 compact sedans and Model Y sports utility vehicles (SUVs), compared with 17,147 Model X and Model S luxury cars.

    Production came in at 439,701 vehicles.

    Tesla said in a separate statement on Monday it plans to host its Investor Day on March 1 and will likely discuss long-term plans for expansion and capital allocation at the event that will be held at its Texas Gigafactory.

    The automaker also hinted at a “generation 3” platform that could be shown to investors at the event. Musk said in October that Tesla was working on a “next-generation vehicle” which will be cheaper and smaller than the Model 3 and Model Y cars.

  • Musk Bullish On Tesla Sales As Price Cuts Boost Demand

    Musk Bullish On Tesla Sales As Price Cuts Boost Demand

    Tesla’s aggressive price cuts have ignited demand for its electric vehicles, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday, playing down concerns that a weak economy would throttle buyers’ interest.

    The company slightly beat Wall Street targets for fourth-quarter revenue and profit earlier on Wednesday despite a sharp decline in vehicle profit margins, and it sought to reassure investors that it can cut costs to cope with recession and as competition intensifies in the year ahead.

    Deep price cuts this month have positioned Tesla as the initiator of a price war, but its forecast of a 37% rise in car volume for the year, to 1.8 million vehicles, was down from 2022’s pace.

    However, Musk, who has missed his own ambitious sales targets for Tesla in recent years, said 2023 deliveries could hit 2 million vehicles, absent external disruption.

    Tesla’s sales prospects, as it confronts a weaker economy, are a key focus for investors. The company said it maintains a long-term target of a compounded 50% annual rise in sales.

    Musk addressed the issue at the start of a call with investors and analysts.

    “These price changes really make a difference for the average consumer,” he said, adding that vehicle orders were roughly double production in January, leading the automaker to make small price increases for the Model Y SUV.

    He said he expected a “pretty difficult recession this year,” but demand for Tesla vehicles “will be good despite probably a contraction in the automotive market as a whole.” Shares rose 5.3% in extended trading.

    The company is relying on older products and Musk said its Cybertruck, its next new electric pickup truck, would not begin volume production until next year. Reuters in November reported that the highly anticipated model would not be produced in volume until late this year.

    Tesla will detail plans for a “next-generation vehicle platform” at its investor day in March.

    Tesla’s vehicles “are all in desperate need of updates beyond software,” said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ executive director of insights. She said Tesla will largely depend on the cheaper unit as well as Model 3 and Model Y to bring EVs to the masses.

    “It’s unlikely that the Cybertruck will attempt to achieve mass-market volumes like the Detroit competitors.”

    Analysts said Tesla’s goal is bullish given the macroeconomic uncertainties.

    “I think that you’re going to see some severe demand destruction across consumer spending and I think cars are going to take a big hit,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said.

    Tesla said it does not expect meaningful near-term volume growth from China, since its Shanghai factory was running near full capacity, rebounding from production challenges last year.

    “Even a small cooling of demand will have significant implications for the bottom line,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

    Tesla said that its automotive gross margins, which dropped to a two-year low of 25.9% in the reported quarter, were pressured by the costs of ramping up battery production and new factories in Berlin and Texas, as well as higher raw material, commodity, logistics and warranty costs.

    Tesla expected its automotive gross margin to remain above 20%.

    Margins generally are expected to be under further pressure from its aggressive price cuts. Tesla, which had made a series of price increases since early 2021, reversed course and offered discounts in December in the United States, followed by price cuts of as much as 20% this month.

    Analysts had said Tesla’s profitability gave it room to cut prices and pressure rivals. The company’s $9,000 in net profit per vehicle in the past quarter was more than seven times the comparable figure for Toyota Motor Corp in the third quarter. But it was down from almost $9,700 in the third quarter.

    “In severe recessions, cash is king, big time,” Musk said, adding that Tesla is well positioned to cope with an economic downturn because of its $20 billion of cash.

    The company’s stock posted its worst drop last year, hit by demand worries and Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, which fueled investor concerns he would be distracted from running Tesla.

    Musk dismissed surveys that suggest his political comments on Twitter are damaging the Tesla brand. “I might not be popular” with some, he said, “but for the vast majority of people, my follow count speaks for itself.” He has 127 million followers.

    Revenue was $24.32 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $24.16 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

    Tesla’s full-year earnings were bolstered by $1.78 billion in regulatory credits, up 21% from a year earlier.

    Adjusted earnings per share of $1.19 topped the Wall Street analyst average of $1.13.

    It ended the fourth quarter with 13 days’ worth of vehicles in inventory, more than four times higher than the start of 2022, and a record $12.8 billion in value.

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  • Hyundai distributor reports revenue of $5B

    Hyundai distributor reports revenue of $5B

    Thanh Cong, distributor of South Korea’s Hyundai automobiles in Vietnam, recorded a revenue of VND118 trillion ($5 billion) last year, an increase of 15.6% over 2021.

    The Thanh Cong Group sold more than 81,500 Hyundai automobiles of all kinds during the year, accounting for some 16% of the country’s total automobile sales in 2022.

    Late last year Thanh Cong inaugurated its second Hyundai automobile plant in Vietnam in the northern province of Ninh Binh, with a designed capacity of 100,000 vehicles per year. It is expected to only assemble the Hyundai Ionic 5 electric vehicle at the plant this year.

    Established in 1999 as a manufacturer, Thanh Cong has now become a multi-industry firm, mainly operating in the spheres of automobiles, services and real estate.

    Other automobile distributors in Vietnam also reported big revenues or profits last year.

    Selling some 130,000 vehicles of all kinds, Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO), the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda and Peugeot achieved a consolidated revenue of more than VND100 trillion, nearly doubling its revenues for 2021.

    Haxaco, the distributor of Mercedes cars, posted a record after-tax profit of some VND245 billion, up 1.5 times over 2021.

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  • Tesla Under Fire In Germany Over Union Concerns On Working Hours

    Tesla Under Fire In Germany Over Union Concerns On Working Hours

    Tesla has come under fire from German union IG Metall and politicians over allegations by workers of unreasonable working hours and fears over speaking out at its Brandenburg plant, with some calling for inquiries into the carmaker.

    At its annual news conference, IG Metall, which has an office near the plant and says it is in regular contact with workers, said a growing number reported longer working hours with little free time.

    Workers were also increasingly fearful about discussing their working conditions openly because of non-disclosure agreements they were told to sign along with their work contracts, IG Metall said.

    A new role advertised on Tesla’s career website for a “Security Intelligence Investigator”, who will partner with legal and human resources departments to carry out “collection of on-the-ground information both within and beyond Tesla walls in order to protect the company from threats”, exacerbated these concerns.

    “Workers started at Tesla with great enthusiasm for the project. Over time we are observing that this enthusiasm is withering,” Irene Schulz of IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Sachsen said in a statement.

    “Tesla is not doing enough to improve working conditions and is leaving too little time for leisure, family and recovery.”

    Tesla was not immediately available for comment.

    Tesla China has also asked some staff to sign non-disclosure agreements, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Reuters found several people on LinkedIn with the title of “Security Intelligence Investigator” working for Tesla in Austin, San Francisco and Shanghai.

    Local politicians from the centre-left SPD to the centre-right CDU expressed concern about the allegations, calling for inquiries both by Tesla and the local government.

    “The state government of Brandenburg must enforce occupational safety through close controls at Tesla,” Christian Baeumler of the Christian Democrats (CDU) said.

    The Brandenburg government was not immediately available for comment.

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  • Tesla’s Price Cuts Promise More Pain For Money-Losing U.S. EV Startups

    Tesla’s Price Cuts Promise More Pain For Money-Losing U.S. EV Startups

    A price war in electric vehicles started by market leader Tesla Inc has made it much more difficult for money-losing U.S. startups like Rivian Automotive Inc and Lucid Group Inc to grab share in an industry competing for shrinking consumer wallets.

    Tesla’s move last week to slash prices globally on its EVs by as much as 20% could draw new buyers to electric cars in the industry, but also will force other automakers to respond with lower prices or risk getting left behind, analysts and investors said.

    Some startups may not be able to afford lower prices as they struggle with staggering raw material and production costs combined with far lower output than the Elon Musk-led Tesla, which delivered more than 1.3 million vehicles last year.

    Tesla’s move will “strengthen their … competitive advantage over other automakers,” CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said.

    The struggles of most startups are a far cry from their initial public offerings over the past few years, when investors believed these companies would take over the EV market and echo the heady valuation Tesla has sported in the past.

    ‘GAME OF THRONES’ FOR EV STARTUPS

    Both Rivian and Lucid have yet to turn a profit. Together they delivered more than 24,000 cars last year, with Rivian spending more money on making each car than the selling price of that vehicle.

    The company’s cost of goods sold was about 2.7 times its revenue in the last reported quarter, while Lucid’s cost of revenue was about 2.5 times its sales.

    Still, Rivian had $13.8 billion in cash at the end of the third quarter – the most among the U.S. EV startups. Lucid had the second-highest cash reserves with $1.26 billion, and it raised another $1.52 billion in the fourth quarter.

    That gives the companies a sizeable production runway at a time peers Faraday Future and British EV startup Arrival have been seeking funding and have warned they might not be able to sustain operations through 2023.

    “It’s a ‘Game of Thrones’ battle for EV startups and they face some dire options over the next 12 to 18 months if they do not succeed in their financial targets,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives. “We would expect some … losers that face the prospect of consolidation or possibly worse on the horizon.”

    A clearer picture of their balance sheets is expected when these companies report fourth-quarter earnings.

    Rivian declined to comment, while Lucid did not respond to a request for comment.

    Lucid aims to target the luxury and sport-luxury sedan segment of the EV market, with its cars starting at over $87,000, which is $8,000 less than the base version of Tesla’s Model S sedan after the January discounts.

    Lucid, headed by former Tesla executive Peter Rawlinson, has not announced plans for a mass-market car to rival Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y, which start at about $44,000 and $53,000, respectively.

    Rivian sells its R1T pickup truck at a starting price of $73,000 while its R1S SUV starts at $78,000.

    The company, whose largest shareholder is Amazon.com Inc, does not plan on selling cheaper cars that it will build on a next-generation R2 platform before 2026. The platform will support higher volumes and be less expensive than the vehicles built on the R1 platform, Rivian says.

    Tesla’s price cuts come just months after contract manufacturer Magna Steyr began production of Fisker’s Ocean SUV, which starts at $37,499 and makes it more vulnerable, analysts said.

    Fisker declined to comment.

    Lordstown Motors, which in May sold a significant chunk of its assets to contract manufacturer Foxconn to raise funds, said its Endurance pickup targets the commercial fleet market only.

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  • Vinasun’s 2022 profit almost seven times higher than target

    Vinasun’s 2022 profit almost seven times higher than target

    Vietnam’s leading taxi firm Vinasun posted VND185 billion (US$7.89 million) after-tax profit last year, which is 6.8 times higher than targeted.

    The taxi operator recorded profits in all four quarters of 2022 after suffering losses in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    With efforts to recover the market in HCMC and the nearby Binh Duong and Dong Nai Provinces, and look for partnership opportunities in transport, technology and consumption sectors, the company earned revenues worth VND1.089 trillion last year, which is twice the figure of 2021.

    By the end of last year, Vinasun’s total assets were worth VND1.836 trillion, up nearly 20% from the beginning of the year.

    At the closing the session on January 19 before the Lunar New Year break, Vinasun (VNS)’s stock value increased by nearly 6.8%, to VND18,150 per share.

  • Tesla Uses Its Profits As A Weapon In An EV Price War

    Tesla Uses Its Profits As A Weapon In An EV Price War

    Tesla earns more money for every vehicle it sells than any of its global rivals. Now, Chief Executive Elon Musk is using that superior profitability as a weapon in the EV price war he started.

    Tesla, once one of the auto industry’s biggest money losers, has over the past year built a commanding lead over most major rivals in profit per vehicle, a Reuters analysis of industry data shows.

    Tesla earned $15,653 in gross profit per vehicle in the third quarter of 2022 – more than twice as much as Volkswagen AG, four times the comparable figure at Toyota Motor Corp and five times more than Ford Motor Co, according to a Reuters analysis.

    For most of this year, Tesla joined rivals in aggressively raising prices on its most popular vehicles, such as the Model Y SUV. Shortages of semiconductors and other materials kept auto industry production down, allowing companies across the industry to focus on higher-margin models and book strong profits, even as sales volumes fell.

    Tesla’s decision to reverse course and spend its production-cost advantage on price cuts now challenges the profit-over-volume strategies established automakers such as GM have pursued since the 2008 financial crisis, and doubled down on during the pandemic.

    To control production costs, Tesla has invested heavily in new manufacturing technology – such as the use of large castings to replace small metal parts. Tesla brought battery manufacturing and other parts of its supply chain in-house, and standardized vehicle designs to improve economies of scale.

    Using production-cost advantages to fund price cuts has a long history in the auto industry.

    Henry Ford slashed prices on his Model T in the early 20th Century as his innovative mass-production system revved up. During the 1980s and 1990s, Toyota used the cost lead provided by its lean production system to offer features at prices Detroit automakers struggled to match. Now, Toyota is rebooting its strategy under pressure from Tesla.

    Growth in electric vehicle demand outpaced the overall market in the United States and globally during 2022. That emboldened automakers to push EV prices higher. Ford hiked prices for its electric F-150 pickup by 40% during 2022.

    But analysts are warning the global EV market could soon have more production capacity than demand.

    By 2026, North American EV demand will hit a level of about 2.8 million vehicles a year, said industry forecaster Warren Browne. But North American EV factories will be capable of assembling more than 4.5 million vehicles, putting overall capacity utilization at just under 60%, he said.

    In China, the end of central government subsidies is accelerating a market share war among rivals in the world’s largest EV market.

    “Tesla has taken the nuclear option to bully the weaker, thin margin players off the table” in China, said Bill Russo of Automobility, an industry consultancy in Shanghai. “Big pie, fewer slices, more to eat for those that remain.”

    Startups such as China’s Xpeng Inc had benefited from Tesla’s price hikes. Now, Xpeng is cutting prices in China – but with less financial leeway than Tesla. Xpeng reported gross profit of $4,565 in the third quarter, and a net loss of $11,735 a vehicle, according to company data analyzed by Reuters.

    “We hope more people can access smart vehicles after we make our cars increasingly affordable,” Xpeng said in a statement.

    Vietnamese EV startup Vinfast said Thursday it will use price promotions to fight back against Tesla.

    Chinese EV market leader BYD Co Ltd announced price increases effective Jan. 1 after Beijing phased out EV subsidies. So far, BYD has not responded to Tesla’s latest price cuts in China. However, BYD’s gross margins of $5,456 per vehicle give it more headroom in a price war than VW, Toyota or GM.

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  • Indonesia surpasses Thailand as Vietnam’s largest car exporter

    Indonesia surpasses Thailand as Vietnam’s largest car exporter

    Indonesia surpassed Thailand as Vietnam’s largest car exporter in 2022, with 72,671 cars exported.

    According to statistics released by Vietnam Customs, Vietnam imported 173,467 cars in 2022, an 8.5% increase from 2021.

    Indonesia, Thailand and China were the biggest car exporters to Vietnam, but Indonesia surpassed Thailand to be the country that exported the most cars to Vietnam, with 72,671 cars exported in total, a 64.2% increase from 2021, and worth $10.5 billion.

    Thailand exported 72,032 cars worth $1.42 billion to Vietnam in 2022, a 10.9% decrease in number from 2021. The number of cars imported from Indonesia and Thailand amounted to 144,703 cars, accounting for 83% of all imported cars. China stood in third place, exporting 17,240 cars to Vietnam in 2022.

    For the first time in decades, the number of cars sold in Vietnam in 2022 reached 508,547 cars, according to statistics from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association and TC Motor.

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  • Audi Delivers Over 1,00,000 EVs Globally in 2022

    Audi Delivers Over 1,00,000 EVs Globally in 2022

    Audi saw a significant growth in the sale of EVs in the year 2022 globally, as the German manufacturer registered a sales figure of over 1 lakh EVs in the year. To be precise, the Volkswagen Group-owned brand delivered 1,18,196 electric vehicles globally in the year, which marked an increase of 44.3 percent over CY2021.

    “Even though we’re still facing global economic challenges, we’re looking toward the future with confidence,” said Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Marketing and Sales. “That’s because we’re going into 2023, during which we will accelerate the transformation together with an attractive portfolio, many orders and a highly motivated team.”

    Audi saw high demand for all-electric models, including the Audi Q4 e-tron, Audi e-tron GT quattro, and Audi e-tron – which will soon be replaced by Audi Q8 e-tron. Not just globally, but Audi also saw a decent growth in EV sales in India, with the figure going up 27.1 per cent in the year 2022.

  • Hyundai conquers Vietnam’s city car market

    Hyundai conquers Vietnam’s city car market

    South Korea’s Hyundai dominated Vietnam’s small urban car market last year after Vietnamese and Japanese manufacturers stopped selling A-segment models.

    The European Commission defines the A-segment as city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars.

    Last year in Vietnam, Hyundai sold 10,752 units of its i10 model, while local Vietnamese manufacturer VinFast sold 10,661 Fadils, its most popular model.

    The Fadil was Vietnam’s best-selling car in 2021. And it was 2022’s best-selling car through the first half of the year as well, before VinFast took it off the market in mid-July as part of the company’s transition towards manufacturing only electric vehicles. VinFast no longer makes fossil-fuel cars.

    The 2022 car market in Vietnam also saw Kia sell 3,979 of its Morning models, while 1,953 Honda Brios and 488 Toyota Wigos were also sold in the country.

    The two Japanese models on the list, Brio and Wigo, were also taken off the market in the second half of last year because their engines did not meet the Euro 5 emission standards required by the Vietnamese government.

    Brio had been on the Vietnamese market for more than 3 years, but the model hadn’t changed since a facelift in 2020. It is scheduled to go on sale in Vietnam again later this year.

    VinFast plans to replace the Fadil with a small electric CUV model called the VF 5. It will cost VND458 million ($19,407), excluding the battery, and deliveries will begin in April.

    Imported Japanese models such as Wigo and Brio have a brand advantage, but their prices are higher than South Korean models assembled in Vietnam.

    In the A-segment, customers are often interested in low initial investment costs and various new version options. Both the Hyundai i10 and Kia Morning meet both of those expectations.

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  • Auto imports zoom to new high

    Auto imports zoom to new high

    Auto imports rose by 8.4% last year to a record 173,467 units, which cost US$3.84 billion according to Vietnam Customs.

    The previous highest number was over 160,000 in 2021.

    Indonesia and Thailand were the biggest sources of the imports last year, accounting for 41.9% and 41.5%.

    China was third with 10%.

    The government has issued a decree encouraging auto imports from ASEAN countries to comply with the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.

    From 2022 to 2027 vehicles produced within ASEAN with over 40% locally sourced components are exempt from import tax.

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  • Indonesia To Offer $5,000 Subsidy On Electric Car Sales

    Indonesia To Offer $5,000 Subsidy On Electric Car Sales

    Indonesia’s government plans to offer a subsidy of more than $5,000 on every sale of an electric car, a minister said on Wednesday.

    It will also offer incentives to encourage purchases of electric motorbikes as well as hybrid cars, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said, as part of plans to reduce carbon emissions in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

    The incentives will offered to buyers of EVs produced by firms with factories in Indonesia, he said in a video statement.

    A subsidy of around 80 million rupiah ($5,131) will be offered on every sale of an electric car, 40 million rupiah on hybrid cars and 8 million rupiah on fully electric motorbikes, the minister said.

    The government will also cover 5 million rupiah of the cost to convert a combustion engine motorbike into an electric one, he added.

    He did not provide a timeline for when the scheme will be implemented nor the total budget it will require.

    Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said previously that the program may start next year.

    Indonesia has a target of at least 1.2 million electric bikes and 35,000 electric vehicles in use by 2024.

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  • Tesla Falls On Growing Angst Over Musk’s Focus On Twitter

    Tesla Falls On Growing Angst Over Musk’s Focus On Twitter

    Shares of Tesla Inc fell nearly 6% on Tuesday after a string of brokerages cut their price targets on the electric-vehicle maker’s stock, citing the risk from Elon Musk’s Twitter distraction.

    Tesla’s shares hit a more than two-year low of $140.86.

    Analysts say investors are worried that Musk may need to sell shares further to fund Twitter and sentiment around the acquisition of the social media firm could hurt the EV maker’s brand.

    Evercore ISI, which slashed its price target on the company’s shares to $200 from $300 said investors fear damage to the Tesla brand.

    Daiwa Capital Markets also cut its price target to $177 from $240, citing a “higher risk profile from the Twitter distraction”.

    Tesla shares, which have lost nearly 60% of their value so far this year, closed down 0.2% on Monday as Twitter users voted decisively in a poll for Musk to step down as chief executive of the social media platform.

    Analysts at Oppenheimer downgraded Tesla’s shares on Monday.

    The price target cuts come ahead of Tesla’s quarterly deliveries report expected in early January amid weakening demand in China.

    Daiwa lowered the company’s delivery estimate by 5% for 2023 and forecast an 8% reduction in revenue per unit year-over-year.

    Musk has said Tesla targets 50% growth in delivery volumes annually, however, the electric-vehicle maker said it will miss the target this year due to logistics issues.

    China’s passenger vehicle sales fell for the first time in six months in November and are expected to stay flat next year, China Passenger Car Association said.

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  • Domestic car market sees sluggish sales in year-end sale season

    Domestic car market sees sluggish sales in year-end sale season

    While normally a positive time for car sales, this year the domestic automobile market is seeing gloomy days as Tet (Lunar New Year holiday) approaches.

    Sale manager of a Hyundai showroom Van Nam said since the end of the second quarter this year, car loans from commercial banks have had an interest rate of 13-15.5% a year, while car loans during the Covid-19 pandemic were between 9.5-9.9% a year.

    Car loans offered by foreign banks in Vietnam are between 10-11% per year, however, lending procedures are very strict, and borrowers must have high incomes and their salary must be paid via banks.

    His showroom’s car sales have decreased by about 40% from the beginning of this year, Vietnam News Agency quoted Nam as saying. His showroom set a target of selling 200 units in December, but it has been hard to achieve it.

    Dinh Hung, a car trader, said used car sales have been gloomier. Since he started trading used cars, this has been the bleakest time. Hung attributed his slow sales to higher interest rates and tightening credit. He complained that he had to borrow money from banks for his business, and it was very difficult to pay off his loans as his used cars have gone unsold.

    Sharing the same view, car dealer Nguyen Quyet said in the first months of this year, the used car market was boisterous and many used vehicles were even sold at higher prices than new cars due to global supply shortages. Contrary to early months, the year-end used car market is quite gloomy.

    The sluggish sales are attributed to a tightening credit market and higher interest rates.

    Tran Duc Hung, a Hanoi resident who is planning to purchase a vehicle, found himself wondering whether he should opt for a new car or not. Hung said that if he bought a new car, he would have to borrow about VND400 million ($16,670) from a commercial bank for a term of five years.

    With this loan, his car would end up costing an additional VND130 million due to bank interest.

    Nguyen Van Thang, an owner of a car dealership on Le Van Luong street, said most banks do not give priority to car loans while interest rates are quite high. This factor greatly affected the car market in general and used cars in particular, especially luxury and expensive ones. Car traders had to reduce prices in early December to lure customers.

    Nguyen Van Nam, sale manager of a Hyundai showroom in Hanoi, said that in December, he lowered prices by between VND15-30 million ($625-1,250) of popular Hyundai models such as Accent, Grand i10, and Elantra.

    Le Thai Son, a car salesman at a Honda showroom in Cau Giay District, said the prices of many Honda models were reduced, for instance, the Honda CR-V at this time would get an attractive discount of between VND70-90 million.

    Toyota Vietnam has offered a promotion campaign for models such as Veloz, Vios, or the 7-seat MPV segment with discounts of VND30-40 million. Meanwhile, many dealers have launched promotions by offering free registration or direct discounts on price.

    November auto sales posted a decline from October after four consecutive months of growth, but sales for the year so far have still achieved double-digit growth.

    According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) report issued on December 13, automobile sales including imports were down 5.9% year-on-year to 36,371 units in November. CKD volume reached 18,813 units and CBU volume was 17,558 units.

    Total sales in the first 11 months this year rose 43% year-on-year to 369,334 units. Of that total, sales of CKD vehicles reached 208,822 and those of CBU imported vehicles reached 160,512 units.

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  • Tesla Adds Apple Music, Zoom & Steam Games Via OTA Update

    Tesla Adds Apple Music, Zoom & Steam Games Via OTA Update

    Tesla has released a new over-the-air (OTA) update for the Model S and Model X which have 16GB RAM. This new update for the 2022 models, now adds some notable new features like the ability to play games from the Steam App Store with cloud synchronisation and support for Bluetooth game controllers while using the arcade mode. This includes support for the PlayStation 5 Dual Shock remote.

    Other updates include a dog mode which allows users to access the in-car camera from the mobile app to keep an eye if your pet is doing well. There are updated media features as well. Teslas notoriously don’t have support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This also meant users of streaming services like Apple Music or YouTube Music could only stream music via Bluetooth or use Spotify which already had an app for the Tesla infotainment system.

    Over the months Tesla had been developing an Apple Music client which has now been released with this OTA update. This was important as a majority of Tesla’s user base has an iPhone which comes preloaded with Apple Music. In addition to Apple Music, there is also a dedicated Zoom client for the video calling and conferencing service which would be a boon to people who are always working on the go.

    The entire user interface for navigation has been updated with drivers having the ability to relive Mario Kart memories and drive on the rainbow road. The turn signals can also automatically turn off and the door handles have new options while parked at home.

    This update furthers Tesla’s vision of the car becoming the next mobile entertainment hub. When the new Model X and S cars where launched they came with a new infotainment system that had AMD RDNA 2 silicon which provides comparable computational power to the Sony PlayStation 5.

    In fact, Sony which has partnered with Honda for an electric car venture is hinting at embedding the PlayStation 5 console within the new cars they launch in the next few years. Mercedes is also moving in a similar direction with the MBUX platform on its cars while Google’s Android Automotive is providing a phone like operating system for manufacturers like Volvo.