is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.
Tesla is continuing to tweak its best-selling EVs in China in the hopes that it can boost its sales amid rising competition from BYD and other domestic manufacturers.
Tesla applied for a new sales license with China’s Ministry of Information Technology for a longer range Model 3 Plus sedan. Likewise, it applied for a license for the Model YL, a longer version of the electric SUV with three rows of seats. The licenses were first reported in CarNewsChina.
The new licenses come just months after the refreshed “Juniper” Model Y failed to improve Tesla’s flagging sales in China, which is the largest EV market in the world. Despite the Model Y ramping up production in the second quarter, Tesla reported a 14 percent drop in vehicle deliveries globally.
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1 / 3 Image: Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
The Model YL, which will be available in China this fall, has six seats and is 7 inches longer and over an inch taller than the current Model Y. In addition to the longer wheelbase, the Model YL has new wheels, new seats, a modified rear, and a new spoiler. Tesla sells the Model Y with an optional third row in the US, but with very limited legroom.
The new EV is all-wheel drive with dual motors, one located on the front axle producing 142 kW and a second in the rear with 198 kW, providing a combined peak power of 340 kW (456 hp). Top speed is 201 km/h (125 mph).
According to Electrek, the more expansive Model YL could be seen as a response to a slew of new three-row EVs that were recently introduced in China, including NIO’s Onvo L90, which starts at the equivalent of USD $39,000. The Model YL is expected to start at over USD $50,000, which may make it a tougher sell for Tesla. Indeed, a long-gestating price war between Tesla, BYD, Xiaomi, and others is driving Western automakers out of China’s lucrative market.
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