First pop up store to display a LHD Model X in Hong Kong - Oct 2016

In March 2017, electric car sales in Hong Kong stood at 2,964 units. Come April, sales dropped to zero units. This was exactly as we had predicted when news first surfaced of the incentives being slashed.

Hong Kong's Transportation Department confirmed the figure, stating:

“There was no first registration of an electric private car in April 2017."

This was seen by most as a massive blow to Tesla, as the automaker was far in the lead in terms of electric vehicle sales in Hong Kong. As Business Insider states:

"...a sales surge just before the April 1 rule change, with 2,939 Tesla vehicles registered in March and nearly 3,700 entering the department's books for the first quarter of 2017. The end of the tax break was announced in February."

You'd think Tesla would be concerned over this drop off, but apparently the automaker isn't too shook up. A Tesla representative released this statement on the situation in Hong Kong:

"In China, for example, we've tripled our revenue from 2015 to 2016 despite a massive tariff and no incentives." "At the end of the day, when people love something, they buy it." "Hong Kong remains a significant market for Tesla, and we continue to sell cars there each quarter. When the Hong Kong government reduced the tax exemption for electric vehicles and increased the cost of our cars by nearly 100%, it's to be expected that demand will be impacted in the period immediately following the change, particularly because of the large number who bought just prior to the change being implemented." "Tesla absolutely believes that the Hong Kong market will continue to be very strong over the long term because it's clear that the people in Hong Kong love our cars."

Tesla concluded by saying it had no concern over the long-term outlook for electric vehicle sales in Hong Kong. From thousands to zero should be cause for concern, you'd think.

Source: Business Insider