Tesla’s China office has said it will not be upgrading the Model Y battery to manganese-based chemistry that would give it approximately 10% more driving range.
Tesla has received thousands of orders in Australia on the larger family-sized Model Y SUV and it now looks set to take over the Model 3, which was the top seller in 2021.
In August it was revealed that the Berlin-made Model Y has been approved to use the BYD Blade battery, and recent speculation also emerged in China that a CATL battery upgrade was on the cards for the Shanghai-made Model Y.
Now, this has now been dismissed by Tesla China with a post on Weibo (as reported by CNEVPost) stating that Tesla currently does not plan to change battery packs in their Model Y EVs.
The changes come after original reports mentioned that Tesla’s main battery supplier CATL was working on delivering new batteries known in the industry as M3P (not to be confused with Model 3 Performance) battery packs.
Unlike traditional LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery packs used in the Model 3 and Model Y EVs for Australia, this new battery chemistry is also set to contain manganese.
The new battery types from CATL will allow for a range increase and were originally reported to be used in Tesla Model Y RWD vehicles made in Shanghai in early 2023.
Tesla China’s latest statement reportedly says that it currently has no current plans to change batteries in the Model Y produced in China. That’s also where all Teslas currently arriving in Australia are produced as well.
While this may change in the future, the current Model Y RWD battery range will remain the same at 455km of range on the WLTP cycle.
Tesla previously changed batteries to Australian-delivered Model 3 vehicles after the RWD model got a range boost with the use of a newer battery back in 2021. That’s when the global EV leader added 10% of extra range to their Model 3 while not increasing the price of Australia’s best-selling EV in November last year.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.