Tesla expands model range in China with long Model Y variant

Tesla will launch additional offshoots of its well-known volume models on the Chinese market. A long version of the Model Y with six seats is to go on sale in autumn. A China-exclusive drive variant for the Model 3 is also planned to follow at a later date.

First, to the Model Y L: this is what Tesla calls the long-wheelbase version of its mid-range bestseller, continuing the tradition of long-wheelbase versions from Western manufacturers in China. German car manufacturers also offer (sometimes exclusively) long-wheelbase versions of global models in China, which have a longer wheelbase and more interior space in comparison.

This is also the case with Tesla: the Model Y L, for which Tesla has now applied for a sales licence in China, is 4.98 metres long, 1.92 metres wide, 1.67 metres high and has a wheelbase of 3.04 metres, according to the publication by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The vehicle is therefore the same width as the Model Y Juniper presented in January, but 18 centimetres longer, has 15 centimetres more wheelbase and is five centimetres higher. The front end looks identical in the pictures. However, the curved roof arch has been stretched, and the rear appears slightly higher: it is somewhat reminiscent of the larger Model X. Tesla apparently wants to use this to provide better space in the last row of seats, as the seven-seater with a normal wheelbase, which was available in the meantime, was already quite cramped.

Image: MIIT

It’s not just the dimensions that are changing: the published data also shows that the long-wheelbase version will be slightly more powerful than the current model, albeit only slightly. Tesla will offer the Model Y L with all-wheel drive, which will be combined with an NMC battery from LGES. The MIIT data always mentions the cell chemistry and the supplier, but not the battery size, so it is unclear whether Tesla will use the additional wheelbase for a larger battery or install the 78.4 kWh variant from the ‘short’ all-wheel drive model. The electric motor on the front axle delivers 142 kW (five kilowatts more), the one on the rear axle 198 kW (instead of 194 kW). This results in a total of 340 kW, compared to 331 kW for the five-seater. However, the new six-seater is also 96 kilograms heavier and, with an unladen weight of 2,088 kilograms, is over the two-tonne mark.

The prices for the Model Y L are not yet public, but CarNewsChina expects a price of around 300,000 yuan, currently the equivalent of 36,000 euros. The long version also changes the competitive environment somewhat, as the Model Y now also competes with other six- or seven-seaters in the five-metre class, such as the Onvo L90, BYD Tang L or the Li Auto i8. In the first half of 2025, Model Y sales in China were 17.5 per cent down on the previous year at around 172,000 units, although this may also be partly due to the ramp-up of the facelift model. The importance of the Model Y in China is enormous for Tesla: in 2024, 74.5 per cent of sales in China were accounted for by this model, three out of four new Teslas in China were a Model Y.

The remaining quarter is sales of the Model 3, which is also built in China, and another variant will be launched on the market in autumn: Tesla has applied for approval of a Model 3+. This is basically the Model 3 ‘maximum range rear-wheel drive’, as is already being built in Giga Shanghai for Europe, for example. In China, the Model 3+ will combine the large NMC battery of the all-wheel drive models with rear-wheel drive. Tesla currently sells three variants in China: The Model 3 RWD with a smaller LFP battery and rear-wheel drive, as well as the Long Range AWD and Performance model, both of which use the aforementioned NMC battery from LG.

The current base model with LFP battery (62.5 kWh) offers a range of 634 kilometres in the Chinese CLTC standard test and costs at least 235,500 yuan (approx. 28,300 euros). The 78.4 kWh NMC battery from LG offers a CLTC range of 753 kilometres in the Model 3 AWD, but costs at least 285,500 yuan (34,300 euros). The Model 3+ with 225 kW of power is therefore likely to be priced somewhere in between, but will offer the longest range in the range.

cnevpost.com, carnewschina.com (both Model Y L), cnevpost.com, carnewschina.com (both Model 3+)