China-made Tesla Model Y expected to come off assembly line at the end of 2020

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The China-made Tesla Model Y SUV is expected to roll off the production line at the Gigafactory Shanghai at the end of this year and is likely to be delivered from the first half of 2021, according to a Chinese local media outlet.

(Model Y; photo source: Tesla China)

In late August, Tesla China kicked off the presale of the locally-produced Model Y via its official website. The China-built all-electric model comes in two versions first—the Long Range version is priced at 488,000 yuan ($72,900) and the presale price of the Performance stands at 535,000 yuan ($79,900). Both of them are AWD models powered by two electric motors.

According to a market speculation, the starting price of the domestically-made Model Y still has room to drop in the future.

The Model Y takes design cues from the Model 3 sedan, while is around 10% larger than the latter, putting it close to the BMW X3 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC in size. According to Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, the Model Y and the Model 3 share the same platform and as many as 75% of components. The Long Range and Performance variants bring the range up to 505km and 480km under the WLTP test cycle.

The Model 3, Tesla's first China-made model, has long been the best-selling locally-produced all-electric model in China since its scale delivery starting in January. According to China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the insurance registrations of the homegrown Model 3 totaled 69,502 units for the first eight months, 44,116 units more than that of the runner-up Aion S.