(Yicai Global) Jan. 6 -- US electric car giant Tesla has greatly reduced the price of its China-made new energy vehicles to help boost sluggish sales and that of the Model 3 is now at an all-time low.

The starting price of the Model 3 has fallen 15.6 percent to CNY229,900 (USD33,512) from CNY265,900 while that of the Model Y has tumbled 11 percent to CNY259,900 (USD37,885) from CNY288,900, Tesla’s China arm said on its website today.

The high-performance version of the Model 3 now costs CNY329,900 (USD48,000) from CNY349,900 and the souped-up version of the Model Y is CNY359,900 (USD52,467) from CNY397,900. The starting prices of the Model S and Model X, which are not made in China, are CNY789,900 (USD115,118) and CNY879,900 respectively, it said.

This is Tesla’s second price cut in under three months as the California-based carmaker tries to turn around flagging sales since the second half last year. On Oct. 24, 2022, the firm trimmed prices and also introduced discounts on the price of insurance as well as offered gifts and other bonuses to Tesla car owners.

Then on Jan. 1, Tesla launched a discount of CNY6,000 (USD872) on new Model 3 and Model Y purchases, available until Feb. 28. However, with the introduction of the latest price cuts, the special offer ended early.

Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, which produces the Model Y and Model 3, delivered more than 710,000 units in 2022, a 48 percent jump from a year earlier. Sixty-three percent of these vehicles were the Model Y, at 450,000 units, close to Tesla China’s total shipments of 480,000 autos in 2021.

Editor: Kim Taylor