Toronto, Ontario — In this weekly Tuesday Ticker economics report, Tesla cuts prices in China and sees its stocks suffer; Uni-Select marks a date for its Q3 2022 results call and an Aviva rep comments on the inflation-auto physical damage connection.
Tesla takes a tumble
Tesla stock was down nearly 50 percent year-to-date on Monday afternoon, losing its stock gains from 2021.
The automaker dropped nearly six points below Friday’s close on Monday morning.
Various reasons have been cited for the recent dips, including CEO Elon Musk’s US$44 billion acquisition of Twitter and the automaker’s decision to initiate price cuts in China.
Prices for the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV dropped by five percent and nine percent, respectively. The Model 3 now costs 279,000 yuan (approx. CND$52,700); the Model Y carries a price tag of 319 yuan, or around CND$60,000.
During the company’s Q3 earnings call last week, Musk said the price cuts come as “China is experiencing a recession of sorts.”
Tesla hit an all-time sales record in the Chinese market in September, selling 83,135 China-made units.
Mark your calendars
Uni-Select will release results for Q3 2022 during an earnings call on Nov. 4, the company said via press release last week.
The call will begin at 8 a.m. ET.
A recording of the conference call will be available from 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 4.
To attend the live broadcast, visit Uni-Select’s website at UNS Q3 2022 Conference Webcast.
Inflation station
Auto insurance and auto physical damage insurance rates have seen the most “acute impact” when it comes to inflation in Canada, Aviva Canada CEO Jason Storah told the Canadian Underwriter in August 2022.
“Auto physical damage inflation is running in the mid-to-high teen digits,” said Storah during the insurer’s mid-year results call. “Bodily injury inflation is a lot lower.
Storah said that, for an insurer like Aviva, it means “cars are not only more expensive to fix or to replace, but it also means customers are in rental cars for longer, because their cars are in bodyshops for longer.”
He also suggested that the industry will only see greater inflation pressure on labour and wages.
“I’ve seen some reports say maybe we’ve peaked in terms of the physical damage and the cost of manufacturing vehicles. We’ll see how that plays out.”
