It’s no secret that Tesla is working on a facelifted version of its big-selling Model Y SUV that’s due out next year. But the story took an unexpected turn this week with the news that the automaker will reportedly launch a six-seat Y variant onto the Chinese market in 2025. The Model Y launched in 2020 and has been a massive success for Tesla, becoming the world’s best selling passenger vehicle of any fuel type last year. But sales have dipped during 2024, something the automaker hopes to correct with the “Juniper” facelift project that will bring the same kind of subtle visual, tech and quality upgrades already introduced on the facelifted “Highland” Model 3 sedan.
The Model Y is under additional pressure
in China from domestic rivals that offer three useable rows of seats, often
with more affordable prices, Reuters reports. Its sources claim Tesla will
respond with a six-seat Model Y that will be on sale in 2025, the same year the
facelifted SUV debuts.
Tesla already offers the Model Y with a
three-row configuration in the US, but not in Europe or China. And though
Reuters‘ intel is slightly unclear when it comes to dimensions, the gist seems
to be that Chinese buyers wouldn’t settle for a third row as cramped as the one
available to American buyers. The report doesn’t explicitly say that the
Chinese six-seater will ride on a longer
wheelbase, but given how many other cars and SUVs from the BMW 3-Series to the
Audi Q2L we’ve seen stretched to deliver the roominess China’s buyers demands,
a LWB Model Y seems entirely realistic.
But unlike some of those China-only
oddballs, a roomier, three-row Model Y could also be incredibly popular in the
rest of the world where buyers might want more seats but can’t afford to
upgrade to the Model X. Thus, we wouldn’t be surprised if the stretch model
makes an appearance in the West, too.
