6 ms·

Tesla sold only one car in Korea in January

34 points by jmsflknr 3y ago

option 3y ago
Do they have supercharger network there? If not then KIA EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq are better than model 3 and Y and I'd imagine there are some sort of domestic incentives involved
- summerlight 3y ago
  https://www.tesla.com/en_US/findus/list/superchargers/South%20Korea https://www.tesla.com/en_US/findus/list/superchargers/South%... Yes, they have but the coverage is not as great as the US outside the capital metro.
- throwaway5959 3y ago
  Not sure why you’re being downvoted. Having ridden in all four I agree, the finish on the Kia and Hyundai cars are miles ahead (hehe) of the Teslas. And they’re likely built in South Korea instead of China, which is great for their industry and frankly national security.
  - samstave 3y ago
    If you watch the docuseries on netflix, the youngest head designer of GM (think Jony Ive for cars) complained that many Detroit Eng's were lured away to KIA - and thats why Kia went from wackenhut style DUMG tunnel vehicles to how great they look today... Kis stole (out paid) GMs offerings - as they wanted an appeal to younger market (recall the chipmunk/hamster commercials, etc)... Kia has a lot of american designers. And younger designers grew up on video games and such, that they want to make good looking cars. Have you seen any cars (mass market, not luxury boxes) from the 70s 80s 90s... hideous POS's - BUT they did have several advantages, less plastic and no remote power off by The Man. EDIT to @throwaway5959 - Im in agreement. I think the Kias look fn dope.
    - throwaway5959 3y ago
      You can’t steal people, just like you can’t “poach” them. There’s nothing wrong with paying people more and delivering a better product.
- not2b 3y ago
  If their sales are very low, it would make no financial sense for Tesla to build out a supercharger network, at least not all over the country, and people would have trouble getting service for what would be an obscure foreign car in the local market. So I'm sure that Korean customers would prefer to buy a KIA or Hyundai, even without considering factors like loyalty to domestic producers.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Does Korea have a EV charging standard? If not, the super charger network would be even more important than in Europe/China.
  - judge2020 3y ago
    Korea standardized on CCS1 (US plugs). Not sure what's happening now with the US ditching CCS1 but it might stay CCS1 over there.
    - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
      It seems that Tesla is still using NACS in Korea:, from https://news.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231123000609 https://news.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231123000609 > Once a user presses the connector button on the charger, it allows access to an adapter called “Magic Dock,” which can be plugged into Tesla’s North American Charging Standard or NACS port. The Magic Dock makes Tesla’s NACS ports compatible with Hyundai and Kia vehicles, and others that use the Combined Charging System or CCS in Korea. Then it sort of makes sense that not having lots of superchargers would be bad for Tesla, since they need to use an adapter with other charging infra if Kia/Hyundai need to use an adapter with theirs.
ado__dev 3y ago
Korean EV's are comparable if not better than Tesla, so not too surprising. Seems like less of gamble to get a Kia or Hyundai EV when you consider long term support.
- LUmBULtERA 3y ago
  I don't know, there are reports (e.g., 0/) of people being quoted obscene amounts (60k CAD?) for Ioniq 5 battery replacements not under warranty. I've seen costs ranging from 15-20k for Tesla battery replacements. There are definitely mixed reviews of Tesla support, but I'd be pretty concerned (if not more so) with support from both Kia and Hyundai as well. 0/ https://www.ioniqforum.com/threads/60k-to-replace-main-battery.48339/ https://www.ioniqforum.com/threads/60k-to-replace-main-batte...
  - judge2020 3y ago
    Battery replacements after the initial warranty period are often uneconomical in the same way engine replacements are uneconomical after the initial warranty period. And in both cases, there are historical accounts of the components lasting well beyond their expected lifetime as well as dying fairly quickly after the warranty runs out.
    - LUmBULtERA 3y ago
      ...Okay? These quotes were when Hyundai decided that the warranty did not cover supposed damage to the batteries. But either way, unwarrantied battery replacement costs of 60k CAD is obscene. On an otherwise new Tesla, a 15-20k (USD) replacement would still be economic but the Ioniq 5 is just going to be "totaled".
  - xattt 3y ago
    Tangential, but I recently realized these car-based forums (Ioniq forum, Kia forums, Ford forums, etc) aren’t run by enthusiasts but rather a single entity, Fora (1). This is not to say that all communities are synthetic. VWwatercooled as an example has been around forever. (1) https://fora.com/about/ https://fora.com/about/
bryanlarsen 3y ago
Anywhere Tesla's are imported via container ship have months with ~0 sales because no ship arrived that month and thousands on other months when they do.
- sgt 3y ago
  Sounds like you are confusing imports with sales. If you import 1000 Tesla's, they surely won't all sell at the same time? I'd expect them to be spread out across several months until the next shipment comes in to replenish. It would however make sense if the deliveries are late and the market had been waiting for months.
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    It's not a sale until it's delivered. It's an order before then.
    - ijhuygft776 3y ago
      Are you saying that they have no inventory control?
      - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
        That has been Tesla's model from the beginning right? They don't have dealerships, they don't have inventory, you order your car, the car is made and then delivered.
      - brandonagr2 3y ago
        Correct, there is no huge parking lot in south korea full of thousands of vehicles to smooth out deliveries over multiple quarters.
        ijhuygft776 3y ago
        You don't need that if you have proper inventory control....
rootusrootus 3y ago
If they normally sell more than a thousand a month in South Korea, then 'only one car in January' sounds like a supply constraint. As I recall, they had a slow month in Australia for that reason.
- tempsy 3y ago
  There's no supply constraints for Tesla right now. The article doesn't say anything about supply being the issue.
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    The supply constraint is shipping, not production.
    - PedroBatista 3y ago
      Are you sure the constraint is shipping? That industry is very volatile but I had the impression the boom was 2020 and 2021 when everybody went on a buying spree but governments forgot quite a lot of people need to get out of the house in order to make this work. Also the infrastructure is not elastic to that point. Now my impression was of "excess capacity" and rates going to the ground because the spree is over and inflation is the hangover. Probably it's a bit of everything, including people realizing EVs are far from being a panacea and the math doesn't add up for their finances. The type of people who usually are or follow the early adopters already have an EV, the rest of the market seems to not be that convinced. ( for many valid reasons )
      - bryanlarsen 3y ago
        A ship holds ~6,000 cars. So until Tesla is selling > 6,000 per month, they're going to get less than one ship per month.
- brandonagr2 3y ago
  In most months yes, in January no, they sold 0 cars January last year also, the government publishes incentives in Feb for the year, so everyone waits for that before buying
zepton 3y ago
No paywall: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/tesla-sold-only-one-car-in-korea-in-january-1.2031762 https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/tesla-sold-only-one-car-in-korea...
tremarley 3y ago
“Carmakers are facing a slowdown in enthusiasm for EVs in South Korea as higher interest rates and inflation prompt consumers to rein in spending, while concerns about battery fires and a dearth of fast chargers are also damping demand.” I think this is also the concern of buyers worldwide.
brandonagr2 3y ago
This is FUD that intentionally leaves out context to create a false narrative. Tesla sold the same no cars last January also, in addition to shipments depending on arrival of container ships and be driven by quarterly timing, the government publishes incentive information for the year in February You can see the number of sales in the first month of every quarter over the years here: https://twitter.com/piloly/status/1742807601425870994 https://twitter.com/piloly/status/1742807601425870994
kccqzy 3y ago
Tesla sold 1022 vehicles in Korea in December 2023. The slowdown in January is because of uncertainty in government incentives. Nothing interesting behind this metric.
bobchadwick 3y ago
Anecdotal, but I was at a Korean school in the States this past weekend and I have never seen a higher concentration of Teslas than I saw in the parking lot. And there were significantly more Teslas than Kia or Hyundais. So at least in this particular parking lot of this particular school, Koreans/Korean-Americans, seemed to really like Teslas.

34 points by jmsflknr 3y ago

Do they have supercharger network there? If not then KIA EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq are better than model 3 and Y and I'd imagine there are some sort of domestic incentives involved

summerlight 3y ago
https://www.tesla.com/en_US/findus/list/superchargers/South%20Korea https://www.tesla.com/en_US/findus/list/superchargers/South%... Yes, they have but the coverage is not as great as the US outside the capital metro.
throwaway5959 3y ago
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. Having ridden in all four I agree, the finish on the Kia and Hyundai cars are miles ahead (hehe) of the Teslas. And they’re likely built in South Korea instead of China, which is great for their industry and frankly national security.
- samstave 3y ago
  If you watch the docuseries on netflix, the youngest head designer of GM (think Jony Ive for cars) complained that many Detroit Eng's were lured away to KIA - and thats why Kia went from wackenhut style DUMG tunnel vehicles to how great they look today... Kis stole (out paid) GMs offerings - as they wanted an appeal to younger market (recall the chipmunk/hamster commercials, etc)... Kia has a lot of american designers. And younger designers grew up on video games and such, that they want to make good looking cars. Have you seen any cars (mass market, not luxury boxes) from the 70s 80s 90s... hideous POS's - BUT they did have several advantages, less plastic and no remote power off by The Man. EDIT to @throwaway5959 - Im in agreement. I think the Kias look fn dope.
  - throwaway5959 3y ago
    You can’t steal people, just like you can’t “poach” them. There’s nothing wrong with paying people more and delivering a better product.
not2b 3y ago
If their sales are very low, it would make no financial sense for Tesla to build out a supercharger network, at least not all over the country, and people would have trouble getting service for what would be an obscure foreign car in the local market. So I'm sure that Korean customers would prefer to buy a KIA or Hyundai, even without considering factors like loyalty to domestic producers.
seanmcdirmid 3y ago
Does Korea have a EV charging standard? If not, the super charger network would be even more important than in Europe/China.
- judge2020 3y ago
  Korea standardized on CCS1 (US plugs). Not sure what's happening now with the US ditching CCS1 but it might stay CCS1 over there.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    It seems that Tesla is still using NACS in Korea:, from https://news.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231123000609 https://news.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231123000609 > Once a user presses the connector button on the charger, it allows access to an adapter called “Magic Dock,” which can be plugged into Tesla’s North American Charging Standard or NACS port. The Magic Dock makes Tesla’s NACS ports compatible with Hyundai and Kia vehicles, and others that use the Combined Charging System or CCS in Korea. Then it sort of makes sense that not having lots of superchargers would be bad for Tesla, since they need to use an adapter with other charging infra if Kia/Hyundai need to use an adapter with theirs.

ado__dev 3y ago

Korean EV's are comparable if not better than Tesla, so not too surprising. Seems like less of gamble to get a Kia or Hyundai EV when you consider long term support.

LUmBULtERA 3y ago
I don't know, there are reports (e.g., 0/) of people being quoted obscene amounts (60k CAD?) for Ioniq 5 battery replacements not under warranty. I've seen costs ranging from 15-20k for Tesla battery replacements. There are definitely mixed reviews of Tesla support, but I'd be pretty concerned (if not more so) with support from both Kia and Hyundai as well. 0/ https://www.ioniqforum.com/threads/60k-to-replace-main-battery.48339/ https://www.ioniqforum.com/threads/60k-to-replace-main-batte...
- judge2020 3y ago
  Battery replacements after the initial warranty period are often uneconomical in the same way engine replacements are uneconomical after the initial warranty period. And in both cases, there are historical accounts of the components lasting well beyond their expected lifetime as well as dying fairly quickly after the warranty runs out.
  - LUmBULtERA 3y ago
    ...Okay? These quotes were when Hyundai decided that the warranty did not cover supposed damage to the batteries. But either way, unwarrantied battery replacement costs of 60k CAD is obscene. On an otherwise new Tesla, a 15-20k (USD) replacement would still be economic but the Ioniq 5 is just going to be "totaled".
- xattt 3y ago
  Tangential, but I recently realized these car-based forums (Ioniq forum, Kia forums, Ford forums, etc) aren’t run by enthusiasts but rather a single entity, Fora (1). This is not to say that all communities are synthetic. VWwatercooled as an example has been around forever. (1) https://fora.com/about/ https://fora.com/about/

bryanlarsen 3y ago

Anywhere Tesla's are imported via container ship have months with ~0 sales because no ship arrived that month and thousands on other months when they do.

sgt 3y ago
Sounds like you are confusing imports with sales. If you import 1000 Tesla's, they surely won't all sell at the same time? I'd expect them to be spread out across several months until the next shipment comes in to replenish. It would however make sense if the deliveries are late and the market had been waiting for months.
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  It's not a sale until it's delivered. It's an order before then.
  - ijhuygft776 3y ago
    Are you saying that they have no inventory control?
    - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
      That has been Tesla's model from the beginning right? They don't have dealerships, they don't have inventory, you order your car, the car is made and then delivered.
    - brandonagr2 3y ago
      Correct, there is no huge parking lot in south korea full of thousands of vehicles to smooth out deliveries over multiple quarters.
      - ijhuygft776 3y ago
        You don't need that if you have proper inventory control....

rootusrootus 3y ago

If they normally sell more than a thousand a month in South Korea, then 'only one car in January' sounds like a supply constraint. As I recall, they had a slow month in Australia for that reason.

tempsy 3y ago
There's no supply constraints for Tesla right now. The article doesn't say anything about supply being the issue.
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  The supply constraint is shipping, not production.
  - PedroBatista 3y ago
    Are you sure the constraint is shipping? That industry is very volatile but I had the impression the boom was 2020 and 2021 when everybody went on a buying spree but governments forgot quite a lot of people need to get out of the house in order to make this work. Also the infrastructure is not elastic to that point. Now my impression was of "excess capacity" and rates going to the ground because the spree is over and inflation is the hangover. Probably it's a bit of everything, including people realizing EVs are far from being a panacea and the math doesn't add up for their finances. The type of people who usually are or follow the early adopters already have an EV, the rest of the market seems to not be that convinced. ( for many valid reasons )
    - bryanlarsen 3y ago
      A ship holds ~6,000 cars. So until Tesla is selling > 6,000 per month, they're going to get less than one ship per month.
brandonagr2 3y ago
In most months yes, in January no, they sold 0 cars January last year also, the government publishes incentives in Feb for the year, so everyone waits for that before buying

zepton 3y ago

No paywall: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/tesla-sold-only-one-car-in-korea-in-january-1.2031762 https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/tesla-sold-only-one-car-in-korea...

tremarley 3y ago

“Carmakers are facing a slowdown in enthusiasm for EVs in South Korea as higher interest rates and inflation prompt consumers to rein in spending, while concerns about battery fires and a dearth of fast chargers are also damping demand.” I think this is also the concern of buyers worldwide.

brandonagr2 3y ago

This is FUD that intentionally leaves out context to create a false narrative. Tesla sold the same no cars last January also, in addition to shipments depending on arrival of container ships and be driven by quarterly timing, the government publishes incentive information for the year in February You can see the number of sales in the first month of every quarter over the years here: https://twitter.com/piloly/status/1742807601425870994 https://twitter.com/piloly/status/1742807601425870994

kccqzy 3y ago

Tesla sold 1022 vehicles in Korea in December 2023. The slowdown in January is because of uncertainty in government incentives. Nothing interesting behind this metric.

bobchadwick 3y ago

Anecdotal, but I was at a Korean school in the States this past weekend and I have never seen a higher concentration of Teslas than I saw in the parking lot. And there were significantly more Teslas than Kia or Hyundais. So at least in this particular parking lot of this particular school, Koreans/Korean-Americans, seemed to really like Teslas.