Tesla, one of the world’s top EV maker, has revamped Model Y with a new-look meant for the Chinese and other Asian-Pacific markets. This will be the first major update to the Tesla Model Y since its launch in 2020. Tesla’s Model Y is its best-selling car and it hopes the revamp and the upgraded features such as heated seats and a better acoustics system will help it regain market share taken by rivals such as Xiaomi.
Tesla’s desire for upgrade was fuelled by lesser deliveries in 2024 as compared to a year before. 2024 marks the first year-over-year decline since the company started selling mass market cars in 2012.
Tesla Model Y launch in China
The new Model Y is slated to start deliveries as early as March in China and some surrounding countries. It’s not yet clear when Tesla will bring this version to Europe and the U.S., though it took around four months for that to happen with the updated Model 3 last year.
Tesla first launched the Model Y in 2020 and it became the world’s best-selling model in 2023. The older model saw declining sales momentum last year, hurt by competition from Chinese rivals in China. Tesla is also hurt by the declining EV demand in other markets.
It plans to launch a six-seat variant of the Model Y later this year, sources have previously said.
Details about Tesla’s plans for the revamped Model Y in other markets were not immediately available.
Tesla Model Y price
Tesla’s new Model Y is priced from 263,500 yuan ($35,900), around 5.4% more expensive than the earlier version in China. China is an important market for Tesla as it is the second-largest consumer.
Tesla Model Y design change
The changes to the new Model Y are somewhat similar to Tesla’s Model 3 sedan in 2023, while also borrowing some design elements from the company’s other projects.
The front end is less bubbly and has a sharper edge to it, like the new Model 3. Inside, the Model Y refresh has the same ambient light bar found in the new Model 3. Overall, the new design more closely matches the look of a lot of Chinese EVs competitors that have inspired a price war and taken market share from Tesla despite record sales in the country.
Tesla’s core EV update
Tesla has now updated all four of its core EVs — the Model Y, the Model 3, the Model S, and Model X — in the last few years. The only truly new product since the Model Y has been the Cybertruck, which is struggling to reach a mass market of buyers.
Upcoming Tesla models
Tesla has teased the release of a mysterious new model (or models) later this year. But while that model is expected to be cheaper than the Model 3 and Model Y, it is not going to start at $25,000. That’s an idea CEO Elon Musk once embraced and has since abandoned.
