The two updated Model Ys include a 5-seat version codenamed Juniper, which is expected to begin deliveries in the first quarter of next year. The other is a 7-seat version expected to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) plans to launch and deliver two updated versions of the Model Y next year, local media outlet LatePost reported today, partially echoing a rumor earlier today.
The two updated Model Y cars include a 5-seat version internally codenamed Juniper, with deliveries expected to begin in the first quarter of next year.
The other is a 7-seat version, with deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the report.
In the absence of all-new models, making small improvements to a hot-selling model is a strategy that is less prone to big mistakes, the report noted, adding that the existing, proven supply chain facilitates rapid mass production with less capital expenditure required.
Most importantly, the models can be built at Tesla's Shanghai factory, which has the lowest production costs, the report said.
However, the updated Model Y is significantly behind Tesla's previous plans, and the electric vehicle (EV) maker originally planned that both updated versions should begin deliveries this year, according to the report.
The updated Model Y is expected to be altered to a similar extent as the updated Model 3, with the vehicle's exterior and dimensions being fine-tuned, as well as the interior, Autopilot hardware, and battery pack capacity, LatePost noted.
The 7-seat Model Y will be based on the updated Model Y. There is no configuration details available, the report said, adding that the seating will be in a 2-3-2 three-row layout in reference to the current 7-seat Model Y available in the US.
The 7-seat Model Y available in China is almost exclusively built by Tesla for the Chinese market, unlike the variant available in the US, but details are unknown, the report said, citing a source close to Tesla China.
It's unclear whether the model will have an extended wheelbase to better accommodate three rows of seats.
The Chinese version of the 7-seat Model Y will have a number of differences from what Tesla currently delivers in North America, which is why it will be mass-produced and launched only in the fourth quarter of next year, the person familiar with the matter said.
Tesla expects this Model Y variant to change its decline in the Chinese market. On the 7-seat Model Y, Tesla has given suppliers sales guidance of about 20,000 units per month, LatePost said, citing a supply chain source.
Additionally, information from the supply chain suggests that Tesla is also preparing a compact hatchback based on the Model Y, LatePost said.
The hatchback is expected to be released in 2025, ready for production in the third quarter, and delivered in 2026, according to the report.
Tesla originally planned to build the hatchback based on the next-generation model platform, but is now building it based on the Model Y instead, according to LatePost.
Earlier today, another local media outlet, National Business Daily, citing an unspecified report, said Tesla plans to launch a China-built 7-seat version of the Model Y in China and Europe in October.
Production of the model has already begun at Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory, the report said.
An hour after National Business Daily's report was published, Shanghai Securities News quoted a Tesla source as saying that it was false news that the Shanghai Gigafactory had already produced the 7-seat Model Y. The person did not comment on other parts of the National Business Daily report.
When Tesla unveiled the Model Y in March 2019, it showed off its 7-seat flexibility. It wasn't until 2021 that Tesla began offering the additional 7-seat option in the US market.
Currently only the four-wheel-drive, dual-motor Model Y Long Range supports the 7-seat version option in the US, which costs consumers an additional $2,000.
Tesla rumored to launch 7-seat Model Y in China and Europe in Oct
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