(JW Insights) May 5 -- Tesla has raised the price of its Model S and Model X new energy vehicles (NEVs), the only two models that are not made in China, marking the second price hike in four days in the country as the US electric car startup tries to stem sliding profits, reported Yicai Global on May 5.

Tesla is increasing the price of its Model S and Model X autos by RMB19,000 ($2,750), said Tesla China on May 5. It follows a RMB2,000 ($290) hike on all China-made vehicles, namely the Model 3 and Model Y, on May 2.

The Model S and Model X, whose latest versions started deliveries in China in March, have a hefty price tag of over RMB1 million ($144,740) and account for only a small proportion of the California-based company’s sales in the country.

The price hikes come shortly after Tesla released its first-quarter financial report, revealing a sharp drop in the firm’s gross profit margin for the first time in nine quarters to below the warning line of 20 percent.

“Our recent pricing strategy takes into account the long-term profitability of every single car, and it is expected that prices will continue to fluctuate because of multiple factors,” a company insider told Yicai Global on the release of the earnings report.

Tesla embarked on a series of price cuts at the beginning of the year, trimming the price of all its NEVs by between 6 percent and 13.5 percent on January 6, with the price of some models hitting a record low. The price of the long-battery-life version of the Model Y had the biggest cut at RMB48,000 ($7,000).

The price reductions triggered a price war in China’s NEV sector, causing more than 40 carmakers, both Chinese and foreign, to cut their prices in the country, said the Yicai Global report.

(Chen HX)