- A three-row version of the Model Y with an extended wheelbase will likely begin production after the upcoming Labor Day holiday in China.
- Tesla last week began offering a five-year, zero-interest financing incentive for the Model Y in China.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is rumored to begin production of a three-row Model Y in China next month to support sales of the crossover.
Production of a three-row version of the Model Y with an extended wheelbase will likely begin after the upcoming Labor Day holiday in China, auto blogger @胖虎Shawn, who has long tracked Tesla’s developments, said today on Weibo.
There’s no information on the cheap Model Y at this time, the blogger added.
Tesla would have a new Model Y, internally codenamed E80, the blogger said on Weibo yesterday.
It’s not clear if the E80 will be the three-row Model Y. Last month, Reuters reported that Tesla’s «lower-priced Model Y,» internally codenamed «E41,» would begin production at its Shanghai plant in 2026.
The upcoming Labor Day holiday in China is May 1-5.
The Shanghai plant, which produces the Model 3 sedan and Model Y, is Tesla’s largest factory in the world, with an annual production capacity of about one million units.
The US electric vehicle (EV) maker launched the facelifted five-seat Model Y in China on January 10, with deliveries beginning February 26.
Tesla’s China website offers seating layout options for the facelifted Model Y, although only the five-seat version is currently available, implying the possibility of a three-row seating option.
The Model Y is one of the most popular EV models in China, but its appeal seems to have been waning with the emergence of more local competitors.
On March 31, Tesla announced that Chinese customers who buy any of the variants of the facelifted Model Y before April 30 would be eligible for three-year zero-interest financing.
On April 22, Tesla ramped up its promotion of the Model Y in China by starting a five-year zero-interest financing incentive for the updated Model Y, valid until June 30.
Tesla sold 74,127 vehicles in China’s domestic market in March, up 18.80 percent from 62,398 in the same month last year and up 176.83 percent from 26,777 in February, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
In the first quarter, Tesla’s retail sales in China totaled 134,607 units, up 1.65 percent from a year earlier.
Tesla has ramped up promotions for the updated Model Y in China, as competition in the EV industry gets fiercer.
