The US electric car manufacturer, Tesla, is set to launch the production of its new Model Y in a gigafactory in Grünheide next Tuesday. According to the German newspaper, Handelsblatt, the management informed the employees about this on Monday.
The test bodies of the vehicle were produced at the plant near Berlin a few weeks ago.
Tesla debuted its new look for Model Y for the first time last week.
The revised model of the car is said to look significantly different from its predecessor.
The new design has an LED light strip that runs across the entire width of the vehicle, both at the front and rear. Its headlights have a narrower design, reminiscent of the Tesla Cybertruck.
While the car’s facelift has internally been codenamed ‘Juniper’ Tesla plant manager André Thierig apparently coined Model Y as ‘our new baby’ in a team huddle with employees.
The extent of the technical innovations behind the new look of Model Y remain unclear.
Tesla has promised a new chassis and fewer parts in production. Furthermore, the revised Model Y has an additional screen in the interior and another camera at the front. Its charging times and battery sizes are very similar to its predecessor.
Handelsblatt said the move aims to serve as a turnaround for falling share prices. In 2024, Tesla sales declined for the first time in 10 years. At 1.79 million vehicles, Tesla sold around 1.4% fewer than in its previous year. As reported by Handelsblatt, Tesla share prices fell significantly, as a result, of CEO Elon Musk promising investors a slight increase.
However, experts remain skeptical as to whether the facelift will be enough to open new customer segments and salvage its sales problems.
Poor sales in Germany are said to be a particular burden on the balance sheet. Tesla only sold 38,000 electric cars in Europe*s largest single market, a 40% reduction from the previous year. By comparison, VW Group sold around 135,000 in the same period.
While the new Model Y is already available to order in China and other Asian markets, it is unclear when it is available for purchase in Europe.
Tesla did not provide any further details on how the new model will change production on Monday.
Source: www.handelsblatt.com
