- Tesla has raised the price of the long-range version of the Model Y in China and started offering financing incentives for the other entry-level variant, probably aiming to balance orders for both variants.
- Customers ordering the rear-wheel drive version of the Model Y currently have to wait 2-4 weeks, while the long-range all-wheel drive version is 6-10 weeks.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) raised the starting price of the long-range version of the facelifted Model Y in China, a rare move in a market where competition is fierce.
The Model Y Long Range's price in China was raised by RMB 10,000 yuan ($1,380), or 3.29 percent, today, from RMB 303,500 yuan previously to the latest price of RMB 313,500 yuan, information on Tesla China's website showed.
The price of the Model Y's other on-sale variant, the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version, is unchanged, with the starting price remaining at RMB 263,500 yuan.
Meanwhile, Tesla began to offer purchase incentives for the Model Y rear-wheel drive version in an attempt to further boost sales of the variant.
Chinese customers who purchase the Model Y rear wheel drive version between March 18 and April 30 can enjoy up to three years of 0 percent interest or five years of low-interest financing if they get delivery before the order due date.
Specifically, customers who buy the Model Y rear-wheel drive version can enjoy 0 percent interest financing for 1-3 years after making a down payment of at least RMB 79,900 yuan.
They can also choose to make a lower down payment of RMB 45,900 for a 1-5 year low-interest financing option with annualized interest rates starting at 1.84 percent.
Tesla later shared the price adjustment as well as the financing offers on Weibo, saying monthly payments can be as low as RMB 3,808 for the Model Y rear-wheel drive version.
The US electric vehicle (EV) maker continues to market the insurance subsidy for the Model 3. Chinese customers who take delivery of any of the electric sedan's variants by March 31 will be eligible for an insurance subsidy of RMB 8,000, the company said today on Weibo.
Tesla began offering an insurance subsidy of RMB 8,000 for all variants of the Model 3 on February 5, reviving a promotional tool it has used several times before.
The insurance subsidy was initially valid until February 28, and Tesla announced on March 5 that it extended the validity until March 17.
Tesla launched the facelifted five-seat Model Y in China on January 10 and began offering two variants it calls the "Launch Series," with deliveries beginning on February 26.
The Model Y Launch Series was on sale for a limited time until February 28, and buyers received an additional two-year or 40,000-kilometer extended warranty.
On March 1, Tesla started selling the regular versions of the Model Y for the same prices as the Launch Series, but the complimentary extended warranty was no longer available.
Tesla's move today may be aimed at balancing orders for both variants of the Model Y.
Customers ordering the rear-wheel drive version of the Model Y currently have to wait 2-4 weeks, while the long-range all-wheel drive version is 6-10 weeks, according to CnEVPost's daily monitoring.
That wait time means that the entry-level Model Y may be facing weak demand, while customers prefer the long-range all-wheel-drive version.
On March 7, local media outlet 36kr cited several Tesla salespeople in a story as saying that the facelifted Model Y had amassed 200,000 orders nationwide in China.
However, among those 200,000 orders were a large number of refundable orders, the report noted.
Among the pre-orders, the conversion rate was higher for the longer-range version, the report said, citing a Tesla source.
The Model Y is one of the best-selling models in China and is critical for Tesla to maintain delivery momentum in the country.
Tesla's China team has led the development of a "lower-priced Model Y" in response to fierce competition in the market, 36kr said in a March 13 report, citing industry sources.
The timing of the new model's launch will depend on the performance of orders for the updated Model Y, the report said, adding that Tesla is expected to launch the "lower-priced Model Y" in the second half of this year if sales of the updated Model Y don't perform as well as expected.
On March 14, Reuters reported that Tesla would launch a lower-priced Model Y, internally codenamed "E41," which will be mass-produced at Tesla's Shanghai factory starting in 2026, confirming 36kr's report.
($1 = RMB 7.2337)
Tesla plans to produce new Model Y codenamed 'E41' in Shanghai at 20% lower cost, report says
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