- Tesla's revamped Model Y has racked up 200,000 orders since it opened for pre-orders on January 10, albeit including many refundable orders, according to local media.
- One of Tesla's core goals in China this year is to introduce the Cybertruck electric pickup truck.
Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) facelifted Model Y seems to be seeing success in China, reportedly garnering a large number of initial orders.
The facelifted Model Y has racked up 200,000 orders nationwide in China, local media outlet 36kr said in a report today, citing several Tesla salespeople.
"From the opening of pre-orders on January 10 until today, each store in Beijing has been able to add almost 100 new orders per day," these salespeople said.
Reporters from 36kr recently visited four Tesla stores in Beijing's Dongcheng, Chaoyang, and Daxing districts, and found that there were not many visitors to the stores, and there was no need to wait for test drives.
Among the 200,000 orders were a large number of refundable orders, the report noted.
Prior to the start of deliveries, the Model Y's pre-order page had the words "refundable deposit" written on it, which disappeared after deliveries of the model began on February 26, 36kr noted.
In the first week after deliveries began, more than 6,000 units of the updated Model Y were delivered in China, according to the report.
Tesla launched the revamped five-seat Model Y in China on January 10, and began offering two variants it dubbed the "Launch Series," with deliveries starting on February 26.
The two variants include a rear-wheel-drive version with a starting price of RMB 263,500 yuan ($36,380) and a long-range all-wheel-drive version with a starting price of RMB 303,500 yuan.
The Model Y Launch Series was on sale for a limited time until February 28, and buyers can get an additional two-year or 40,000-kilometer extended warranty.
Tesla began selling the regular version of the new Model Y in China on March 1, with prices unchanged and the Launch Series bonus of extended warranty no longer available.
Customers ordering the rear-wheel drive version of the Model Y currently have to wait 2-4 weeks, while the long-range all-wheel drive version is 6-10 weeks, information on Tesla's Chinese website shows.
Among pre-orders, the long-range version has a higher conversion rate, the 36kr report said, citing a Tesla source.
Deliveries of the standard-range rear-wheel-drive version are accelerating, and some customers who were expected to get deliveries after four weeks have already been notified that they can pick up their vehicles, the person said.
A day before deliveries of the facelifted Model Y began, Tesla began pushing out software update version 2024.45.32.12 to eligible vehicles in China on February 25, bringing FSD (Full Self-Driving)-like smart driving features.
The long-awaited features have brought a lot of excitement, but Tesla salespeople still don't recommend customers to buy the FSD package priced at RMB 64,000 yuan.
In China, all Tesla vehicles come with the free Basic Autopilot (BAP) software, which when turned on allows the vehicle to drive autonomously in the set lane, including accelerating, decelerating, stopping and starting.
Tesla has been allowing owners to purchase FSD for a one-time fee of RMB 64,000. In addition to FSD, Tesla also offers Enhanced Autopilot (EAP) in China at half the price of FSD.
"The latest update is actually not FSD, it's a more advanced level of assisted driving," the 36kr report today said, citing several Tesla salespeople.
"To be honest, we don't recommend you pay RMB 64,000 for it right away," these salespeople said.
They said the assisted driving features are currently trained based on foreign data and don't necessarily perform well in China. "And, RMB 64,000 is too expensive, we would introduce a system of monthly paid subscription for FSD, and it's really not cost-effective to buy it now."
One of Tesla's core goals in China this year is to introduce the Cybertruck electric pickup truck, 36kr cited a Tesla source as saying.
There is little demand for pickup truck models in China, but the innovation and forward-thinking spirit that the Cybertruck represents could reawaken young consumers to Tesla, the report said.
($1 = RMB 7.2427)
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