Model Y serial production kicks off in Shanghai

Tesla has started series production of the Model Y in Shanghai and lowered the model’s prices. There are also some changes to the Model 3 built in China to kick off the year.

Reports about the start of production of the Model Y in the Shanghai Gigafactory were already circulating in mid-December. In the announcement about the production and delivery figures for 2020, Tesla confirmed that the Model Y is now being built in China, but not yet delivered. Now it is clear that the first examples will be handed over to customers before the end of January.

Tesla has also adjusted the prices somewhat for the market launch. The all-wheel-drive version now starts at 339,900 yuan, the performance variant from 369,900 yuan. That currently equates to the equivalent of 42,855 euros for the Model Y Dual Motor and 46,640 euros for the Model Y Performance. The price reduction is significant – the two Model Y versions were listed in the Chinese configurator at 488,000 yuan and 535,000 yuan (61,530 euros/67,450 euros) respectively.

The portal Teslarati speculates that the price reduction is due to the localisation of the supply chain of the Giga Shanghai. In the context of the announcement of the business figures for the second quarter of 2020, Elon Musk still indicated that 80 per cent of the supply chain of the China plant will be localised by the end of 2020. Chinese media also speculated that the initially very high price of the Model Y was chosen in order not to jeopardise orders for the Model 3.

At the same time, the price reduction could not only be due to the internal model policy but also justified by the market situation: With the current entry-level price, the Model Y is cheaper in China than, for example, a Nio ES6 (from 358,000 yuan). Here, the standard paint of the Model Y from Chinese production (and thus the only free paint colour) is black and no longer white.

There are also a few changes to the Chinese-produced Model 3: The long-range rear-wheel-drive variant has been removed from the lineup, and the all-wheel-drive version with a performance package has been added. As a result, there are currently only two versions of the Model 3 in China: the ‘Standard Range+’ version with a NEZF range of 468 kilometres costs at least 249,900 yuan (31,500 euros), while the performance model with a large battery for 605 NEZ kilometres can be ordered from 339,900 yuan (42,855 euros).

teslarati.com, insideevs.com, reuters.com (Model Y), insideevs.com (Model 3)