Tesla has plans to supply a low-cost model of its best-selling Mannequin Y to spice up sluggish gross sales in China, based on a report.
The automotive will price no less than 20% much less to supply than the model launched final yr, and might be manufactured on current manufacturing traces, sources with data of the matter advised Reuters.
Mass manufacturing of the low-cost car – codenamed “E41” – will begin at Tesla’s largest manufacturing facility by output in 2026, based on the report.
Elon Musk’s electrical car firm has confronted slumping gross sales in China – its second-largest market – as demand slowed and native competitors ramped up from rivals like Warren Buffett-backed BYD.
The brand new, low-cost Mannequin Y will primarily be bought in China, however it’s going to even be produced in Europe and North America, based on the report.
Musk in January mentioned the corporate can be introducing lower-cost fashions within the first half of 2025.
Tesla’s Mannequin Y, a completely electrical mid-sized SUV crossover, at the moment begins at $36,351 in China.
It was China’s best-selling automotive in 2023 and 2024, however has confronted extra low-cost competitors from Chinese language rivals, and analysts have warned that Xiaomi’s YU7 crossover – set to launch this yr – might additional threaten Tesla’s gross sales.
Xiaomi’s latest mannequin is predicted to price round $34,500, based on CarNewsChina, an English-language information website on the Chinese language auto trade.
Xiaomi is the world’s third-largest smartphone maker.
The Chinese language tech big solely began promoting vehicles in April, however its SU7 sedan has outsold Tesla’s Mannequin 3 on a month-to-month foundation since December.
Tesla’s market share in China’s electrical automotive market dropped to 10.4% final yr from 11.7% the yr earlier than.
In the meantime, Tesla is on shaky floor at dwelling as Musk’s ties to President Trump because the face of his cost-cutting committee have hit the corporate’s inventory.
Shares in Tesla soared final yr after Musk began campaigning with Trump, endorsing his run for a second time period – even because the carmaker suffered its worst gross sales yr ever.
However the inventory is now plunging, alongside different “Magnificent 7” tech shares, as Trump’s threatened tariffs spook buyers.
And Musk’s shut ties to the president have additionally led to a breakout of protests at Tesla showrooms throughout the nation.
Some Tesla vehicles have been set on hearth, and a Colorado dealership has been vandalized with the phrases “Nazi cars” over Musk’s historical past of antisemitic social media posts.
Trump lately hosted a showcase of Musk’s autos within the driveway of the White Home and agreed to buy a purple Tesla Mannequin S at “full price” as he decried the protests.
Tesla has not introduced any new merchandise currently, except for its deliberate self-driving “Cybercab” for 2026.
Musk has targeted on launching totally different variations of current fashions to fend off competitors.
The corporate plans to launch a six-seat variant of its Mannequin Y later this yr in China, based on the report.
With Submit wires
