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Jan 2 (Reuters) - Tesla's annual deliveries fell for the first time in 2024 despite the electric automaker handing over a record number of units in the fourth quarter, indicating tepid demand for its aging line-up of models.
Shares of the company fell 3% in trading before the bell as intensifying competition, the absence of some European subsidies and weak consumer spending in China hurt Tesla's deliveries in 2024.
October registrations of Tesla vehicles in Europe fell by 24%, owing to a tight race from Volkswagen Group , whose Skoda Enyaq SUV dethroned the Model Y as the best-selling EV in the region, according to data research firm JATO Dynamics.
Lower prices and incentives pinched Tesla's profit margin on vehicle sales last year. Wall Street, however, expects demand to pick up in 2025 as the U.S. Federal Reserve cuts interest rates.
Tesla delivered 471,930 Model 3 and Model Y and 23,640 units of other models, including the Model S sedan, Cybertruck and Model X premium SUV. It produced 459,445 vehicles during the October-December period.
The automaker handed over 495,570 vehicles in the three months to Dec. 31, missing estimates of 503,269 units, according to 15 analysts polled by LSEG.
Deliveries for 2024 were 1.79 million, 1.1% lower than a year ago, below estimates of 1.806 million units, according to 19 analysts polled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; On X as @HoodieOnVeshti; +91-74116-87774;))
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