The CAAM assessment, which began in November, is voluntary, and Tesla was one of the first automakers to receive approval, along with BYD, Lee Auto, Nio, Hozon, and Lotus.
“The results of this review will give Tesla owners and other fans of Tesla cars greater confidence in driving on China's roads,” said Chen Jinzhu, CEO of consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service. It will give,” he said. “As CAAM is a government-backed automotive industry association, this review will no doubt influence the policy decisions of relevant authorities.”
The approval also bodes well for Tesla's self-driving software, the Fully Self-Driving (FSD) system, to be approved in China.
In a meeting with Musk on Sunday, Premier Li said Tesla's operations in China were an example of a successful economic partnership between China and the United States, and encouraged further cooperation between the two countries.
Grace Tao, Tesla's vice president of China external relations, wrote in an op-ed in the state-run People's Daily on Friday that self-driving is a key growth driver for the country's EV sector and that the technology could create new He argued that a business model would emerge. Robotaxis, a vision embraced by Mr. Musk.
In the US, Tesla charges US$8,000 to purchase the FSD software and US$99 per month for a subscription.
“This is a watershed moment for both Mr. Musk and the Chinese government, as Tesla faces massive EV competition and weak demand in China,” Wedbush Securities said in a research note Sunday night. This is the moment.” “Tesla's long-term reputation story hinges on FSD and autonomous driving, but a key missing piece of the puzzle is Tesla making FSD available in China, which is on the horizon. ”
Tesla will be able to deploy self-driving services based on “lane-level navigation” and mapping provided by the Beijing-based internet giant, Bloomberg reports.
In April 2021, the company suspended a customer in China after a woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Brake Failure” and the Tesla logo jumped on top of a Tesla car on display at the Shanghai Auto Show. faced backlash on social media. She drew attention to an accident involving her Model 3 that she blamed on the company.
Tesla later bowed to pressure from market regulators and released certain Model 3 data logs to owners.
The U.S. automaker did not attend last year's Shanghai auto show and was absent from the Beijing auto show, which opened last Thursday, due to concerns about similar incidents, according to people familiar with the matter.
Since 2021, the Chinese government has restricted the use of Teslas by military personnel and employees of major state-owned enterprises due to security concerns. Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles are also prohibited from entering certain areas, including airports.
China is now Tesla's second largest market, with 603,664 cars delivered last year, followed by the US, where the company delivered 654,888 cars to US customers last year. This is an increase of one-quarter from 2022.