- The new 821-km Model Y variant secured orders equivalent to three weeks of production capacity at Tesla‘s Shanghai factory on its launch day, according to a local media report.
- The launch of the new Model Y variant comes amid a significant decline in Tesla’s sales in China.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) launched a new five-seat Model Y variant with an 821-km CLTC range in China last Saturday, and it appears to have garnered strong initial acceptance.
The new Model Y variant received orders equivalent to three weeks of production capacity at Tesla’s Shanghai factory on its launch day, local media outlet Auto Time reported today, citing sales personnel.
In Beijing, nearly 400 units of the 821-km Model Y rear-wheel drive long-range variant were sold on Saturday alone, the report said.
Last weekend, nearly half of the customers visiting Tesla stores were specifically interested in the new Model Y variant, a salesperson said.
Tesla launched the new Model Y variant in China on November 8, starting at RMB 288,500 ($40,520). Its 821-km CLTC range is the longest in the SUV lineup.
It features a 78.4-kWh ternary lithium-ion battery pack supplied by South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, matching the battery used in the Model 3 variant with an 830-km CLTC range.
Initial delivery estimates for the new Model Y variant were 2-4 weeks at launch, extending to 4-6 weeks later on Saturday.
Despite generating significant interest, the 821-km Model Y lacked display cars or test drive vehicles at stores over the weekend, as noted by Auto Time.
The new variant’s exterior and interior closely resemble the standard rear-wheel-drive version, differing only in its Y+ badge, and no display units will be available going forward, the report cited a salesperson as saying.
The five-seat Model Y offers two additional variants: the entry-level rear-wheel drive model and the long-range all-wheel drive model, priced starting at RMB 263,500 and RMB 313,500 respectively. Their CLTC ranges are 593 km and 750 km.
The six-seat Model Y L currently offers only one option, starting at RMB 339,000 with a CLTC range of 751 kilometers.
The launch of the 821-km Model Y comes amid a significant decline in Tesla’s sales in China.
The US electric vehicle (EV) maker sold 26,006 units in China in October, marking its lowest monthly retail sales since November 2022, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
This represents a 35.76 percent year-on-year decline from 40,485 units and a 63.64 percent month-on-month drop from 71,525 units in September.
The sharp decline caused Tesla’s market share in China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market to drop to 2.03 percent in October, falling out of the top 10 in the CPCA monthly NEV retail sales ranking for the first time since August 2022.
($1 = RMB 7.1196)
