Tesla Reportedly Shutters Its 1st Showroom In China As Elon Musk Company Rejigs Strategy Amid Softening Demand

Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc TSLA, has reportedly shut down its first showroom in China as the electric vehicle maker looks to adjust its sales and service strategy in its second-largest market.

What Happened: Tesla, late last week, closed its flagship showroom in an upscale downtown shopping center, Parkview Green, in Beijing, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

See Also: Tesla Migrates Shanghai Factory Workers To Boost US Plant Production

A mall staff member also confirmed to the newswire that the electric vehicle market leader had shut the showroom and the facility windows are now being plastered with posters belonging to the new tenant. 

"Their contract with us expired, and Tesla decided not to extend it," the staff member said.

The report noted that the Beijing store was opened in 2013 and was the E.V. maker's first in China. In 2018, it was also renovated and expanded to occupy two floors of the mall. Nio Inc NIO rival owns and runs over 200 stores across China that display models and arrange test drives for potential customers.

Last week, the company slashed starter prices for its Model 3 and Model Y cars by as much as 9% in China amid signs of softening demand due to prolonged COVID-19 curbs in the country. Tesla sold 318,151 vehicles in China in the first nine months of 2022, up 55% from a year earlier, data from the China Passenger Car Association shows.

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