According to industry insiders, there is a rumor that Tesla is planning to produce up to 4 million vehicles for a new low-cost model. However, the official channels of Tesla China have not yet responded.
Supposedly “Small trunk version” is the Tesla internal code name.
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The sources say that this model is a small version of the Model Y, and the annual capacity plan will be distributed to factories around the world, with the Monterrey factory in Mexico being the main production capacity for the new model. The Berlin factory in Germany and the factory in North America will each bear 1 million vehicles. This plan aligns with Tesla’s layout as they revealed the Monterrey factory in Mexico at this year’s Investor Day. The factory covers almost 4,200 acres and is the largest Tesla factory worldwide. Tesla has submitted an application for change of the factory in Berlin, Germany, and plans to increase its annual production capacity from 500,000 to 1 million. Although there has been no response from Tesla’s official channels in China, it is believed that Tesla is working on developing a low-priced model to expand its market share. In the past, the company announced plans to develop its own battery and expand the production scale of 4680 batteries, making it possible for self-driving electric vehicles priced at $25,000 by 2023. Tesla’s chief engineer, Lars Moravy, also reiterated this plan during an investor activity day in early March, saying that the company hopes to manufacture “next-generation” cars at half the current Model 3 or Model Y cost. Tesla’s new Mexican factory is expected to be an efficiency machine that will reduce production costs of the Model Y by 50%. While the mass production of the “150,000 yuan model” may not come soon, industry analysts believe that if Tesla can take the lead in lowering the price of smart electric vehicles to more than 100,000 yuan, it will not only gain a large amount of market share, but also have a huge push for the entire domestic new car market.
