Tesla changes insurance incentive scheme in China to urge purchases

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Tesla Inc said it has raised insurance incentives for car orders in China placed before Nov. 30, but reduced them for orders made next month, a move to urge consumers to place orders earlier.

The U.S. automaker previously offered an insurance incentive of 7,000 yuan ($970) for orders between Oct. 1 and Dec. 30. But on Tuesday Tesla said the incentive for November was raised to 8,000 yuan and reduced for December orders to 4,000 yuan.

"As long as you like it enough, pick up Tesla immediately!" Tesla said in its official Weibo account when announcing the policy change.

The insurance incentive is a cash rebate offered to buyers to buy insurance from Tesla's partner insurers.

Tesla delivered 71,704 China-made electric vehicles (EVs) in October, down 14% from a record high in September, according to the China Passenger Car Association last week.

Tesla also slashed starter prices in China for Model 3 and Model Y cars and closed what had been its flagship showroom in the country last month.

($1 = 7.2403 yuan)

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh in Shanghai, Liz Lee and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom Hogue)