Tesla restarts insurance business, and the competition in the new energy vehicle insurance market intensifies
Recently, Tesla Insurance Brokers (China) Co., Ltd. was officially established with a registered capital of 50 million yuan, which marks Tesla's entry into the Chinese insurance market again. This move not only reflects the importance of new energy vehicle companies to the insurance business, but also indicates that the competition in the new energy vehicle insurance market will further intensify.
Tesla's reopening of insurance is not an isolated case. In recent years, new energy vehicle companies such as BYD, Weilai, and Xiaopeng have laid out the insurance field. Among them, BYD Insurance has launched new energy vehicle insurance business in many provinces, and issued its first policy in May this year. This trend shows that new energy vehicle companies are trying to open up the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain through insurance business and enhance their comprehensive competitiveness.
The background of the entry of new energy vehicle companies into the insurance industry is the rapid growth of the new energy vehicle market. According to data from the Ministry of Public Security, as of the end of June 2024, the number of new energy vehicles in the country has reached 24.72 million, and 4.397 million new energy vehicles were newly registered in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 39.41%. This huge market size provides a broad space for the development of new energy vehicle insurance.
However, the new energy vehicle insurance market is not all smooth roads. For a long time, the dilemma of "car owners shouting expensive, insurance companies shouting losses" has always existed. The high frequency of insurance and the high cost of compensation for new energy vehicles have led to the underwriting losses of many insurance companies. At the same time, the particularity of new energy vehicles also brings new challenges to insurance pricing and risk assessment.
For the traditional insurance industry, the entry of new energy vehicle companies has undoubtedly brought great pressure. First of all, the establishment of insurance companies by car companies may lead to the loss of some premiums. Second, the large amount of vehicle data and user information that automakers have may give them an edge in risk assessment and pricing. In addition, car companies may launch more targeted insurance products, further squeezing the market space of traditional insurance companies.
Faced with this situation, the traditional insurance industry needs to respond positively. On the one hand, digital transformation should be accelerated to improve the accuracy of risk assessment and pricing. On the other hand, it can consider cooperating with new energy vehicle companies to achieve complementary advantages. At the same time, it is also necessary to continuously innovate products and services to meet the special needs of new energy vehicle owners.
At the regulatory level, it is also necessary to provide institutional guarantees for the healthy development of the new energy vehicle insurance market. Improving the smart auto insurance system, optimizing the pricing mechanism of auto insurance, and promoting data sharing and cooperation are all issues that need to be solved urgently.
In general, the entry of new energy vehicle companies into the insurance industry is both a challenge and an opportunity. It may reshape the entire auto insurance ecosystem and promote the development of the industry in a more refined and intelligent direction. For consumers, more market participants means more choice and possible service improvements.
So finally, I would like to ask: in the emerging market of new energy vehicle insurance, how should traditional insurance companies deal with the competition of car companies? And how can consumers choose the best insurance solution for them among the many options?