Tesla Vs. Nio Vs. Xpeng Vs. Li Auto: What's Driving Chinese Consumers' Choice?

Consumers in China focus on factors such as the price and driving range the most while buying an electric car, according to a report by CNBC.

What Happened: As per the CNBC report, which is based on conversations from around China and not on qualitative research, some consumers prefer to buy local electric cars due to their cheaper prices, customer care service and the driving range on a single battery charge.

While Tesla Inc. TSLA is the market leader for high-end vehicles in China, the world’s largest auto market, Chinese car start-ups such as Nio Limited NIO, Li Auto Inc. LI and Xpeng Inc. XPEV saw deliveries jump last year.

Li Auto’s Li One SUV is priced at 328,000 yuan, according to the company’s website, almost half the price of a similar car from Nio, which focuses on the premium market.

In addition, the Li One also comes with a fuel tank for charging the battery on the go, which boosts the vehicle’s driving range to 498 miles from 111 miles on a single charge. The extra range is an attraction for consumers due to the absence of public charging infrastructure in China’s remote regions.

While Nio sells several car features as a subscription model, the company’s customer care service was an attraction for buyers, according to the CNBC report. Nio's founder, chairman and CEO William Li said the company doesn't prefer to emulate Tesla in cutting prices and boosting order backlogs.

Tesla’s Model 3 sells for nearly $39,000 in China following a series of price cuts made by the company last year. Online stories about Tesla’s poor customer service also apparently deterred some from buying the U.S. electric car maker’s vehicles.

See Also: Nio Says Chip Shortage Will Hit EV Production In Q2

Why It Matters: Electric vehicles are seeing strong demand from consumers in China after the government launched subsidy programs and announced the development of a national charging network. The government has also made it cheaper to get license plates for electric vehicles as part of its efforts to reduce pollution in Chinese cities.

Chinese companies, including Li Auto and Xpeng, are working on developing electric vehicle technologies, including ultra-fast charging, next generation computing platforms and autonomous driving technologies.

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