(New York) The American car manufacturer Tesla created a surprise on Tuesday by announcing quarterly sales above the analysts’ consensus, in an American market where manufacturers are fighting to attract customers with their electric models.
New vehicle sales “are still recovering,” Cox Automotive noted earlier, maintaining its forecast of 15.7 million vehicles sold in the United States in 2024, but warning of “volatility” in the second half.
Elon Musk’s group thus delivered nearly 444,000 vehicles in the second quarter worldwide, above analysts’ expectations (436,000), but down 4.70% over one year.
The electric vehicle specialist also indicated that it delivered 443,956 vehicles between April and June, including 422,405 Model 3 and Model Y.
At the same time, it produced 410,831 vehicles, including 386,576 Model 3s and Model Ys.
On the New York Stock Exchange, its shares jumped 8.98% around 3:30 p.m. (Eastern time).
“This is a huge achievement in terms of winning comebacks. […] when the market was rather anticipating a big miss this quarter in a context of demand for electric vehicles still erratic at the global level”, underlined the analysts of Wedbush, evoking a “surprise fireworks”.
They believe that “the worst is behind” Tesla thanks to the “mini-rebound” in China and “a stabilization of prices”.
And the presentation on August 8 of its robotaxi, a driverless vehicle, should “launch the new chapter in the history” of the manufacturer in terms of autonomous driving, they add.
Circumspection
Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds, on the other hand, is much less excited. According to her, the decline in deliveries over the year “is not a big shock because […] The manufacturer has exhausted all its tricks in lowering prices and multiplying commercial advantages to stimulate demand.
“These are tough times for Tesla,” she said, especially since these sales tactics can have “long-term negative consequences”: prospects are constantly discounting them and owners who paid a high price see the value of their vehicles plummet, she said.
For Cox Automotive, the period is favorable for buyers because the availability of vehicles from manufacturers exerts “downward pressure on prices.”
The giant General Motors – the leading manufacturer in the American market, with a claimed share of 16.3% for 2023 – delivered 696,086 vehicles (+0.6% year-on-year) in the United States in the second quarter. But it reported a decline of 0.4% in the first half, with 1.29 million deliveries.
The group has recorded a 17% increase in sales of electric vehicles since the start of the year – 38,355 in the first half of the year -, claiming a rate higher than that of the market (+10%).
Its stock reached 581,000 vehicles at the end of June, the equivalent of 66 days of sales.
The Japanese manufacturer Toyota, a pioneer of hybrids with its Prius model, sold 621,549 vehicles (+9.2%) on American soil between April and June, including 247,347 fully or partially electric models (+67.9%).
In the first half of the year, they jumped 14.3% to 1.19 million.
“The first half exceeded our highest expectations,” said Jack Hollis, vice president of sales, quoted in a statement, noting that the Lexus brand had its “best first half in 35 years of existence.”
Its compatriot Honda revealed a 9.3% increase in its sales between January and June to 690,281 vehicles, with an opposite trend for its Honda (+12.3%) and Acura (-13.1%) brands.
But the latter’s dealers were particularly affected by a cyberattack on June 19 against approximately 15,000 dealers in North America, the effects of which are still being felt.
On the startup side, Rivian produced 9,612 vehicles and delivered 13,790 in the second quarter. These levels are in line with its forecasts, which continue to call for annual production of 57,000 vehicles.
But Garrett Nelson of CFRA Research is concerned about the drop in production early in the year and the “lack of visibility into the number of bookings.”
The company’s stock market performance was boosted by German automaker Volkswagen’s June 26 announcement that it would invest $5 billion — including $1 billion directly in Rivian — to create a joint venture specializing in automotive software.
Nikola, a start-up that makes hydrogen and electric trucks, said it sold 72 hydrogen vehicles in the quarter, exceeding its target of 60 units.