Tesla begins producing long-range China Model 3

Tesla has started production of the long-range version of the Model 3 in Shanghai, China. Deliveries are scheduled to begin shortly. However, the price is slightly higher than previously announced.

+ + Kindly see our update below + +

As Tesla stated on its Weibo account, the Gigafactory 3 will build the long-range model with rear-wheel drive in addition to the ‘Standard Range+’ version of the Model 3 electric car. The vehicles will be delivered in just a few weeks: According to Tesla, customers can expect to receive the first MIC Model 3 LR in June 2020.

The long-range battery has a claimed range of 650 kilometres according to the NEDC standard still used in China. In Europe where the EV comes with four-wheel drive, the WLTP test results in a range of over 530 kilometres.

BREAKING: The first batch of Tesla MIC Model 3 Long Range RWD is officially off the production line at Gigafactory Shanghai ahead of schedule, and will be officially delivered in the near future.#Tesla #TeslaChina #MIC #LongRange #GF3 #特斯拉 #中国 $TSLA pic.twitter.com/7mqsDCl7rQ

— Jay in Shanghai 🇨🇳 特斯拉 (@JayinShanghai) May 14, 2020

The differences are not only in the different measuring cycles, however, but also in the different batteries installed – despite the same model designation. The Model 3 built-in Fremont uses the cylindrical Panasonic cells from Gigafactory 1. The Giga Shanghai is supplied with cells from CATL (for the future SR+ models) and from LG Chem (Long Range) as reported.

Tesla had discontinued the Model 3 Long Range with rear-wheel drive in the summer of 2019. Still, in some markets (such as Germany) this version was never officially on sale – customers had to select a four-wheel-drive model and then have Tesla switch to rear-wheel drive by telephone or online. In China, the long-range version with rear-wheel drive is now experiencing a large-scale comeback.

Together with the long-range model, advance sales of the performance version had also started in China. However, the AWD model with the large battery will probably not be delivered in China until the first quarter of 2021.

For the MIC Model 3 LR available now, Tesla quotes prices somewhat higher than when the sales start was announced in April: At that time, the talk was of 366,550 yuan before and 339,050 yuan after the subsidy. Now the base price for the LR model is 344,050 yuan after the grant – that is 5,000 yuan or the equivalent of 652 Euro more than before.

However, the MIC Model 3 Long Range will only benefit for a short time from the subsidy of currently 27,500 Yuan: The recently announced new regulation will come into force at the end of June. Then the subsidy rates will decrease slightly, and a price cap of 300,000 yuan will be introduced. The long-range Model 3 will subsequently no longer be eligible for subsidies. For the SR+ version of the China Model 3, however, Tesla had lowered the prices at the beginning of May from 323,000 Yuan to 291,000 Yuan, so that the entry-level model would remain eligible.

Update 26.05.2020: After Tesla started production of the long range version of the Model 3 in China about two weeks ago, deliveries of this model variant have now begun. According to Chinese media, Tesla made the announcement via its Weibo account. According to its own statements, Tesla does not want to adjust the price of 344,050 Yuan for at least three months – even though subsidies will expire in about two months since the long-range model is above the subsidy limit of 300,000 Yuan.

In addition, Tesla has now officially applied to the Chinese government for approval of a new Model 3 version with cobalt-free LFP cells, which are presumably supplied by CATL. The technical specifications of the SR+ version are to remain the same. However, Tesla should be able to purchase the LFP cells at significantly lower prices. A disadvantage of LFP batteries, however, is their lower energy density, which is why the LFP cells are reportedly only to be used in the MIC Model 3 with the smaller battery. The long-range batteries are based on NCM cells from LG Chem.

gasgoo.com, teslarati.com, gasgoo.com (update), electrek.co (update)