Tesla Mannequin Y ‘Juniper’ Refresh: This Is It

• Tesla lastly unveiled the long-awaited, up to date model of its Mannequin Y crossover. 
• The brand new mannequin appeared on Tesla’s China web site on Thursday. 
• The redesigned model of Tesla’s greatest vendor arrives simply after its first annual gross sales hunch in over a decade. 

A refreshed Tesla Mannequin Y crossover appeared on the automaker’s China web site on Thursday, giving the world its first take a look at the long-awaited, up to date model of Tesla’s best-selling automobile. 

The redesigned crossover arrives at a time when Tesla critically wants a win and is going through unprecedented competitors on the worldwide stage. Its world deliveries sank in 2024—from 1.81 million items to 1.79 million—marking the automaker’s first annual drop in gross sales in over a decade. The up to date crossover might assist reignite gross sales in 2025 and past. Deliveries ought to start in China in March, in keeping with Tesla’s web site. 

The Tesla Mannequin Y refresh.

Photograph by: Tesla

The up to date mannequin includes a new nostril with an angular gentle bar paying homage to Tesla’s Cybertruck pickup and the Cybercab robotaxi unveiled late final yr. It additionally has a beefy gentle bar operating throughout its rear. In any other case, the outside styling is basically an identical to the present Mannequin Y. Much like the Mannequin 3 “Highland” refresh that launched in late 2023, the facet profile of the up to date Mannequin Y appears just like the outgoing mannequin.

The refreshed crossover additionally will get a giant inside makeover that brings it in keeping with the recently-updated Mannequin 3 sedan. That features an ambient lighting strip operating all through the cabin, a display screen for rear passengers and a stalk-less steering wheel. That is proper, of us—you will not discover typical flip alerts or a gear shifter right here. 

The Tesla Mannequin Y’s up to date inside.

Photograph by: Tesla

On Tesla’s China web site, it says the brand new Mannequin Y has been tuned for higher effectivity and will get an up to date suspension that produces a smoother trip. The latter might resolve one of many largest complaints house owners have concerning the Mannequin Y: its overly stiff suspension and bumpy trip high quality.

The rear display screen within the new Tesla Mannequin Y refresh.

Photograph by: Tesla

The Lengthy-Vary All-Wheel Drive variant earns a 719-kilometer (446 mile) vary estimate in keeping with China’s testing process, which yields extra beneficiant rankings than the EPA figures we’re accustomed to within the U.S. That is a slight, 4.5% enhance over the 688 km beforehand supplied by that trim. Tesla quotes a 0-62 mph dash as little as 4.3 seconds.

The Tesla Mannequin Y refresh.

Photograph by: Tesla

Tesla can also be providing a lower-priced, rear-wheel drive possibility with an estimated vary of 593 km, up 7% from 554 km from the pre-update mannequin. 

Each fashions are priced barely larger than their predecessors. The Lengthy-Vary AWD mannequin is available in at 303,500 RMB (round $41,400). The Rear-Wheel Drive one is on provide for 263,500 RMB, or roughly $35,900. These symbolize roughly 5% and 4% worth bumps, respectively. 

The Tesla Mannequin Y refresh at a Supercharger station.

Photograph by: Tesla

Whereas most automakers give their automobiles visible tweaks each few years and full overhauls periodically, Tesla hasn’t modified up the look of the Mannequin Y because it went on sale in 2020. Auto business analysts say that call—and extra broadly, Tesla’s restricted, stale lineup of automobiles—has dragged down demand for Teslas as competitors within the EV house has intensified. The Cybertruck launched in late 2023 as Tesla’s newest brand-new mannequin, but it surely’s proved too costly and polarizing to develop gross sales in a significant approach.

The Mannequin Y is now the best-selling electrical automobile on the earth—and, moreover, the very best promoting automobile of any powertrain. That is nice for Tesla. Nevertheless it additionally means EV patrons could also be clamoring for one thing new and totally different. Tesla may even want extra fashions—and significantly, lower-priced ones—if it desires to proceed increasing its gross sales, specialists say. The corporate says it would launch simply that this yr, however hasn’t shared any particulars. 

The Tesla Mannequin Y refresh includes a thick gentle bar throughout its rear hatch.

Photograph by: Tesla

China is one in every of Tesla’s most vital markets and is by far the biggest marketplace for electrical autos, which helps clarify why the brand new mannequin is happening sale there first. Plus, Tesla is going through stiff competitors within the nation from fast-moving, homegrown EV makers like BYD and Geely. 

There is not any phrase but as to when the brand new mannequin will go on sale outdoors of China, or how the small print of the U.S.-bound mannequin might differ from the Chinese language-market one.