Tesla has stepped up its engagement with Chinese regulators: Report | Automotive news

U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla, in response to complaints about safety and customer service in China, is stepping up its engagement with mainland regulators and strengthening its government liaison team, industry sources told Reuters news agency.

Tesla’s strategy change could have had a greater interaction with Beijing’s policymakers behind it compared to relatively few previous ones, the seriousness the automaker sees as the biggest delay in the second market, the Reuters news agency reported on Monday.

This is happening at a time when China is trying to regulate large and powerful private companies, especially in the technology sector, due to concerns about their dominance in the market.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday, a public holiday in China.

As they do elsewhere, in China, the world’s largest auto market, regulators discuss industry policies and standards with global and local companies, industry associations and think tanks.

Manufacturers usually hold these meetings in China, but unlike rivals like Toyota Motor and General Motors Co., Tesla officials were not present at most of the closed-door gatherings, according to four people who knew the subject.

Instead, Tesla officials speak frequently at large-scale industry conferences. Outside of China, Tesla CEO Elon Musk regularly goes to Twitter to comment on or criticize regulators or rules.

In recent weeks, Tesla executives have been involved in at least four political debates, including automatic data storage, communication technologies for vehicle infrastructure, car recycling and carbon emissions.

Tesla of California, a Shanghai plant that makes 3-model electric sedans and a Y-model electric sports vehicle, did not make any significant commitments at the meetings, but took part in some discussions.

Recruitment boost

One of the sources also said that Tesla is expanding the government relations group in China.

According to two WeChat recruitment announcements in April, Tesla is hiring managers to update a policy database and maintain relationships with government and industry associations to “build a harmonious external environment to support business development in Tesla’s regional market”.

It was not immediately clear how many managers they intended to hire for Tesla government relations.

With Tesla accounting for about 30% of worldwide sales, China is the second-largest automotive market in the U.S. and helped record vehicle delivery records in the first quarter.

Tesla was investigated in March when the Chinese military banned the entry of its cars into the complex, citing security concerns with the vehicles ’cameras, sources told Reuters. [File: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg]

Tesla has been putting pressure on its excellent relations with Beijing in recent months.

In February, Chinese regulators called on consumers to talk about battery fires, unexpected acceleration and out-of-the-air software updates.

And Tesla was investigated in March when the military banned the entry of its cars into the complex, citing security concerns over the cameras of the vehicles, sources told Reuters at the time. A few days later, Musk appeared via video in a high-profile forum, saying that if Tesla used cars to spy on cars in China or anywhere, it would shut down.

Last month, state media and regulators went to Tesla’s home when a customer, outraged by a complaint about the brakes malfunctioning, climbed on top of a Tesla car to protest at a Shanghai car show. Videos of the incident went viral.

Grace Tao, Tesla’s vice president of Chinese government relations efforts, was criticized last month in the state media for mentioning in a media interview that the affected customer was acting on his own.

In the face of various complaints, Tesla has said it will set up a data center in China, launch a self-inspection to improve services and work with regulators.