On January 18th, Tesla announced that its electric pickup truck Cybertruck China Tour is about to begin.
A reporter from Time Weekly saw on its registration page that the event is currently in the registration stage and will take place from January 17th to March 31st. Meanwhile, its national debut city has not yet been finalized, or it may depend on the results of the voting and registration process.
Regarding the exhibition schedule, debut city, etc., a reporter from Time Weekly interviewed Tesla, and relevant personnel said they are looking forward to it.
Previously, after experiencing multiple ticket cancellations, Tesla Cybertruck began its first delivery in the North American market at the end of last year. According to the parameter configuration unveiling released by Tesla's official blog on December 1st last year, Cybertruck is incredibly sturdy, durable, suitable for any terrain, and can travel on any planet's surface. The electronic adaptive air suspension provides a movement range of 305 millimeters and a ground clearance of 432 millimeters, which can flexibly cope with various rough road conditions and meet various driving needs. At the same time, Cybertruck also has strong protective performance, and armored glass can withstand the impact of baseball or level 4 hail at a speed of 112 kilometers per hour.
From the perspective of orders, according to third-party data cited by China Newsweek in December last year, Cybertruck has already received over 2 million orders globally. Based on its estimated annual production capacity of 250000 vehicles, if all scheduled orders are delivered, Cybertruck's order volume has been scheduled for 8 years.
However, its delivery in the Chinese market is not yet due. On January 18th, when a reporter from Time Weekly inquired about the ordering and delivery of Cybertruck pickup trucks on Tesla's official website, its online intelligent customer service stated that pre-sales of Cybertruck have been temporarily suspended in China. You can follow the official website, click subscribe, and get updated information. If there is already a Cybertruck order, please be patient as there are currently no delivery plans for this model in the Chinese market.
Screenshot of customer service response on the official website
A few days ago, Tesla CEO Musk stated on social media that legalizing Cybertruck on the road in China would be very difficult, but Tesla would transport a prototype car for display.
Regarding this, Zhang Junyi, Managing Partner of Aowei Consulting, told Time Weekly on January 18th that on the one hand, it may be related to the passive safety of its body, which may pose a certain threat to other vehicles, such as the sharp edge design, which may have certain issues with pedestrian protection; Furthermore, certain key dimensions and layouts may require adjustments to enter the Chinese market. In addition, transportation regulations in various parts of China are not particularly friendly to the popularization of pickup trucks.
It will take some time for Cybertruck to start selling in China, and there have been many new players joining the pickup track in the Chinese market. In 2022, Geely Radar Motors launched the RD6 electric pickup truck, with a maximum load capacity of 430 kilograms and a towing capacity of 2500 kilograms. Last year at the Shanghai Auto Show, Changan brought a pure electric pickup truck - the Changan Lantuozhe EV. In May last year, it stated that by 2025, Changan Chinese brands would launch 27 new new energy products, including 7 products such as Kaicheng Smart Logistics and electric pickup trucks.
In terms of overall market performance, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on January 16th, the overall pickup truck sales from January to December 2023 were 512000. Among them, the pickup truck market sold 48000 units in December last year, a year-on-year increase of 10.3% and a month on month increase of 5.0%, which is at the median level in the past five years.
Passenger Association
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) stated that in the domestic retail market, traditional major manufacturers of pickup trucks have shown relatively stable performance, with the pickup truck industry of Great Wall, Jiangling, Zhengzhou Nissan, and Jiangxi Isuzu continuing to maintain a stable pattern of surpassing the top three. The domestic electric pickup truck market is gradually starting, and electric pickup trucks such as Geely Radar are gradually cultivating the market. Data shows that last year, the sales of radar new energy vehicles reached 6710 units.
"From the trend of 2024, it is expected that the sales of pickup trucks in the market may remain basically the same as last year." On January 18th, Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the All China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, stated in an interview with Time Weekly that although there are many new players in the electric pickup truck track, consumers are not very enthusiastic about pickup truck products at present, and the market is still relatively niche, so the impact on overall sales in the short term may not be significant.