Electric Vehicles

Tesla’s surprise surge lights up China policy risk

15 Mar 2017

The electric carmaker unexpectedly tripled sales in the People's Republic last year to $1 bln. Favourable licence plate policies adopted recently in key cities are a likely factor. For Tesla, China's fast-moving green car rules can be as much an opportunity as they are a problem.

Hong Kong is stage for Tesla’s next power surge

22 Dec 2016

Though it's congested and boasts limited green credentials, the city's residents snap up thousands of Elon Musk's slick electric cars. The tax breaks that make them affordable are up for review. But 2017's cheaper Tesla could show the world how to switch on subsidy-free success.

China’s car scam shows best and worst of subsidies

15 Sep 2016

Lavish grants for electric vehicles nurtured new technology and a massive market. The largesse came at a price, though, with many millions of dollars lost to scammers faking sales to claim cash. There may yet be a happy ending for home-grown heroes like BYD.

China’s Netflix-to-Tesla is spread painfully thin

16 Aug 2016

Jia Yueting's LeEco is pushing into TVs, mobile handsets, electric vehicles and video-streaming. That poses huge financial and strategic challenges for his mostly private group. These are fast-moving, capital-intensive industries with very well-resourced competitors.