Securities firm says China-made Tesla Model Y expected to be priced at RMB275,000

Beijing (Gasgoo)- The price difference between the Tesla Model 3 and the Model Y is 6%-9%, judging from the company’s overseas price strategy, TF Securities noted in a recent report. 

Based on a conservative hypothesis of 10%, TF Securities said that the starting price of the China-made Model Y is expected to be down to RMB275,000 (about 40,920 dollars) when the price of the China-made Model 3 is set at RMB250,000. With further localization and battery technology advancement, the SUV’s price may be below RMB250,000.

According to the Wuhan-headquartered securities firm, for the moment, Tesla needs to enlarge its fleet to accumulate data and better its full self-driving function and software system, so it may continue its price-cutting strategy. On the first day of October, Tesla China cut the starting price of the standard locally-made Model 3 to RMB249,900 after subsidies.

Tesla Model Y; photo credit: Tesla China

Earlier this month, a local media reported that the China-made Model Y 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. In late August, Tesla China kicked off the presale of the locally-produced Model Y, which comes with two versions first—the Long Range version, priced at RMB488,000 (about 72,614 dollars), and the Performance version, priced at RMB535,000 (about 79,608 dollars).

Given that Chinese consumers have a strong preference for premium SUV models, the monthly sales of the Model Y, after its local production starts, will be up to 30,000 units, TF said in the report. In accordance with the securities firm’s prediction, the Model Y’s sales will see rapid growth from 2021 to 2023. Tesla’s overall annual sales will increase 76% year on year to 880,000 units in 2021 while its sales in 2022 will grow 45% to 1.28 million units, TF added.

Tesla sold 11,329 China-made vehicles in China in September, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on October 13. In August, the American automaker sold 11,800 China-made Models.