The formal announcement of the restyled version of the world bestseller Tesla Model Y took place on January 10 this year, but the company was ready to offer commercial cars to Chinese customers only in March. This week, the assembly of commercial electric cars of the new generation was officially launched at the plant in Shanghai, and they will go on sale before the end of the month.
Image source: Tesla
In fact, this week brought two pieces of news to potential buyers of the Chinese-assembled Tesla Model Y. Firstly, production cars will reach customers in China earlier than expected – not in March, but already at the end of February. At the same time, the choice of configurations is not large yet, you can only consider cars of the debut Launch Series, either in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive versions.
Secondly, the assembly of the restyled version of Model Y has already started in Shanghai, as evidenced by official photos posted on social networks by the company’s press service, which not only exists in Tesla’s Asian office, but also functions properly. The photos show restyled versions of Model Y coming off the conveyor belt of Tesla’s plant in Shanghai in a somewhat semblance of a ceremonial setting. The traditional group photo of the plant’s employees against the backdrop of an electric car lost in the crowd is also provided.
Tesla electric cars assembled in Shanghai are also shipped outside of China, and in significant quantities, so this news is important not only for the company’s Chinese customers. The restyled cars in the rear-wheel drive version are equipped with a traction battery with a capacity of 62.5 kWh, the charge of which is enough for 559 or 593 km of travel according to the conventional CLTC cycle. The all-wheel drive Tesla Model Y assembled in China is equipped with a traction battery with a capacity of 78.4 kWh, which is calibrated for 662 or 719 km of travel according to the CLTC cycle, depending on the version. In both cases, LFP batteries are used, just in the first case they are supplied by CATL, and in the second by LG Energy Solution. The cost of Tesla Model Y in China starts at $ 36,280 for the rear-wheel drive version.