Disregarding marketing, Tesla eventually had to change to “please” Chinese customers

As one of the largest car companies in the world, Tesla does not value marketing. CEO Elon Musk is proud that his company does not advertise, instead will use the money to develop products.

But in China, the world’s largest electric vehicle market, where Tesla is preparing to push big sales, that chorus has begun to change as the automaker hosts racing events, showroom parties. with DJ and the launch of the Chinese Tesla sticker set on chat apps to promote the brand.

Tesla is different now, not only focusing on product development, but also providing many experience services to customers, guiding them to use the entire feature of the cars they own.

In August, they held three experience events for auto reporters, social media influencers and some Tesla car owners – one in Beijing, two in Shanghai and There are plans to expand to other major cities such as Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Tesla is working on a marketing strategy this year to increase brand appeal, seek ideas and consult with sales and marketing experts.

Helping raise his brand in China, CEO Elon Musk visited the country and held a discussion with Alibaba’s BABA.N at Alibaba at an AI industry event. on Thursday.

Tesla’s efforts to reach customers in China are due to Silicon Valley carmaker preparing to open a large car assembly plant in Shanghai and facing fierce competition in the electric car market. upscale here.

The plant will start production later this year and can produce 3,000 Model 3 vehicles per week in the first phase. That figure will nearly quadruple the number of imported Model 3 cars sold in China each month this year. The plant also produces Model Y series, with an estimated annual production capacity of 250,000 vehicles.

However, Tesla is spending much less than what a typical Chinese automaker will spend on marketing.

It has been exporting cars to China since 2014 and is still the norm that other carmakers in China often compare in their advertising.

The launch of Model 3 for the Chinese market in late February also went well, helping Tesla China sales in the first 6 months increased 42% to $ 1.5 billion, equivalent to 13.5% of the total revenue.

But Tesla in China didn’t get off to a good start as it launched all-electric cars in the US with the Model S in 2012.

Chinese startup Nio Inc (NIO.N) sells two fully electric premium SUVs, Jaguar has launched I-PACE SUV and BMW (BMWG.DE) with i3 hatchback and i8 sportcar. Later this year, Audi will launch two all-electric SUVs while Daimler’s Mercedes (DAIGn.DE) will launch one.

In addition to the stickers in the chat app that show a variety of emotions – a market strategy used by many other carmakers – Tesla is partnering with Tencent – one of Asia’s largest technology companies. , known for its WeChat mobile messaging app – to provide online digital music service (0700.HK) QQ Music for partying with DJs in showrooms.

Tesla also takes advantage of the Weibo account, posting many activities, increasing interaction with the public.

These are marketing tactics specific to the Chinese market. Tesla finally realized the importance of adapting to China.