Tesla’s Model Y electric crossover may not make it to Australia until the second quarter of 2022, sources have told The Driven.
The highly anticipated Model Y is expected to outsell already market leading Tesla Model 3, the Model S and the Model X combined, and is already selling well in the US and China markets.
In June, the Model Y helped Tesla claim the top two spots in global EV sales: no mean feat with more than 100,000 sold combined against 30,000 sales of the popular and tiny Wuling HongGuang Mini EV.
It is made at both Tesla’s Fremont factory in California, as well as its Shanghai factory in China, where it is already making right-hand-drive models for the Hong Kong market, with deliveries to start there this month.
But although it was previously thought that the imminent Hong Kong launch indicated a launch for other right-hand-drive markets by the end of 2021, it appears this will no longer be the case.
A source who has asked to remain unnamed but who has contacts with Tesla staff in Hong Kong and China has told The Driven that an Australian launch will be delayed until early in Q2, 2022 because demand for the Model Y is proving to be so high in China.
They said Hong Kong deliveries will start in September, based on the fact another contact had ordered one and received a delivery text.
Additionally, Tesla will first launch the Model Y in the UK before Australia, they said.
Even though three right-hand-drive vehicles were flown into the country in August, a local staff member has also told one local customer that the Model Y will not come to Australia for six or even 12 months, citing the time it would take to put the Model Y through Australian Design Rules testing.
It also appears that the Model Y, at least initially, will only be available in the 5-seater version, not the 7-seater option that has attracted some aspiring customers. Reservations are still not available in Australia.
When it does become available to order in Australia, it is likely to be available in three variants, including a Standard Range with 455km driving range (WLTP), with 19″ Gemini wheels as standard or an optional 20″ Induction wheels and acceleration from 0-100km/hr in 5.6 seconds.
Also available would be the Performance and Long Range variants.
The Long Range will feature a driving range of 542 kilometres (WLTP), with a 5-second acceleration to 100 kilometres per hour and standard 20-inch Induction wheels. At its Hong Kong premiere, the Model Y Long Range was equipped with new Michelin Sport EV tyres, according to images published on the Australian Model 3 & Y Facebook page.
The Performance Model Y has a range of up to 528 kilometres (WLTP), accelerates to 100 kilometres per hour in 3.7 seconds, and comes standard with 21-inch Überturbine wheels, performance brakes, and lowered suspension.
The Model Y is likely to sell in Australia from mid-late $60,000 to $100,000, using figures calculated by comparing Model 3 pricing in Hong Kong to Australian pricing.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.