By
Svetlana Soroka
April 18th, 2024
The Tesla Model Y electric SUV comes in two variants and has been manufactured at Tesla’s local Shanghai gigafactory. The Model Y rollover is part of Tesla’s plan to gain a significant market share in China.
On Monday, January 18, automobile giant Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) started the deliveries of its Model Y crossovers in China. It’s also a major milestone as all the cars are locally produced in Shanghai’s gigafactory. Probably, this new model is likely to give Tesla a strong footing in the world’s biggest automobile market.
Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency was the first to break the news. However, there isn’t enough data as to how many deliveries happened on the first day. Tesla has been working over the last nine months to expand its manufacturing capabilities at the Shanghai gigafactory.
Tesla’s Model Y electric SUV comes in two different variants. The Model Y Performance variant will start at 369,900 yuan ($56,600). On the other hand, the Tesla Model Y long-range dual-motor variant starts at 339,900 yuan ($52,000). The Electrek publication has got access to Tesla’s official statement. The official announcement from the company (translated from Chinese) reads:
“Special” Don’t be surprised, overjoyed Y! Today’s first batch of #中国制造Model Y# was officially delivered in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuhan, Hefei, Wenzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Ningbo. This is the Tesla speed! During the special period, the delivered vehicles have been fully disinfected, and the staff also prepared an “epidemic prevention package” for car owners to make the delivery more secure. Thanks to the car owners for their trust and support, Tesla will continue to “power up” to bring smarter and more convenient travel experience to car owners and friends, so that every trip will be full of electricity!”
China as a Key Market to Tesla
The world’s largest automobile market China is also the world’s largest EV vehicle market. Tesla looks to tap into the massive opportunity that lies ahead. The American electric-carmaker is willing to expand its global sales from 500,000 in 2020 to 20 million over the next decade.
With the fact that China was a driving force behind Tesla’s delivery volumes in 2020, Tesla is looking to scale this market further. In late 2019, Tesla already started the production of its Model 3 sedan in Shanghai’s gigafactory. This factory is Tesla’s one of the biggest single-place manufacturing capabilities in the world.
Tesla is also planning to enter other markets worldwide as it sets its eye on India for this year 2021. Meanwhile, today TSLA stock is 1.72% up in the pre-market at the time of writing. It means that the stock is trading at around $840 with the company’s market cap at $783 billion.