Tesla’s facelifted Model Y has garnered significant attention in China, with over 70,000 orders placed within five days of its launch on January 10, according to local media outlet Yicai, citing an insider.
Another report from Jiemian suggested that as of January 15, orders for the Model Y had reached 73,400, including nearly 60,000 for the revamped version since pre-sales began.
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The updated Model Y marks Tesla’s first major model refresh launched initially in China. The five-seat SUV, produced at Tesla’s Shanghai factory, features two variants in a “Launch Series” lineup: a rear-wheel-drive version starting at RMB 263,500 ($36,280) and a long-range all-wheel-drive version priced from RMB 303,500. Deliveries are expected to begin in March.
The facelift introduces an exterior design inspired by the Cybertruck and Tesla’s robotaxi concept, alongside improvements in battery and powertrain technology. “The fast pace of Tesla’s research and development has been key to its success against legacy automakers,” Yicai reported, quoting an R&D source.
Tesla’s Chinese and U.S. teams collaborated closely on the global development of the Model Y, with Chinese developers refining the exterior and interior while U.S. teams focused on software innovations such as Autopilot, according to an industry source. Grace Tao, Tesla’s vice president of external affairs, confirmed on January 25 via Weibo that revamped Model Y show cars are being delivered to showrooms across China.