Could Tesla's Model Y SUV be a blockbuster at just $5k more than Model 3 sedan? China-built EV gets international price tag and delivery date

Telsa’s long-awaited Model Y SUV has received a compelling international price tag and delivery dates, as brand aims to reverse a sales slide in the key Chinese market.

While the brand’s Australian arm has been quiet on the Model Y for some time, the international price tags suggest the SUV may only cost a mere $5000 more than its Model 3 sedan sibling in matching specification.

Deliveries are slated for Europe and, importantly, the right-hand-drive market of Hong Kong in September, where the entry-level Standard Range Plus wears a price-tag of HK$329,800, converting to an Australian dollar value of roughly $57,000. If you add the extra few thousand which the Model 3 seems to for our market, that leaves you with a local estimated MSRP of $64,000 for an entry-level Model Y.

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This would seriously put the pressure on range-equivalent SUV rivals like the Hyundai Kona Electric (from $62,000), Kia Niro EV (from $62,590) and Mercedes-Benz EQA250 (from $76,800).

The catch, however, is the entry-level rear-wheel-drive Standard Range which offers 455km of WLTP range has not yet been confirmed for the Australian market, with only the all-wheel-drive Long Range and Performance appearing to interested local customers (which would have the SUV starting from A$70k using our estimation method).

Unlike the Model S and X which are sourced from Tesla’s home market of America, the Model 3 and Model Y are sourced, even for the Australian market, from a more recently built facility in China. The Model Y has just had its most affordable pricing locked in for the Chinese market (where it starts from the equivalent of A$57,079) in an attempt to arrest a decline in sales as more affordable local competitors close in on the range and technology front.

The Model Y will share much of its interior tech with the Model 3 on which it is based.

The news of the Model Y Standard Range’s pricing comes just days after the brand announced historic low pricing for its Model 3 Standard Range Plus in Australia, now wearing a before-on-road cost of $59,900, placing it lower than many of its key rivals.

Tesla is set to be further embattled in the near future though, with Hyundai promising keen pricing for its Ioniq 5 SUV later this year, and Volkswagen claiming its ID.4 SUV will wear pricing in the mid-$50k-region.

The entry price for a Tesla could get lower still, with the brand’s enigmatic leader, Elon Musk, pitching a US$25,000 (A$33,000) starting price for an as-yet unseen “European-style hatchback” which will have a minimum driving range of 402km. This model, which will serve as the entry point to Tesla’s range, is said to be revealed in the next three years.

While pricing for a Standard Range variant could be compelling, Tesla has only confirmed the longer range options for the Australian market.

Stay tuned for more accurate local pricing as we inch closer to the Model Y’s Australian launch.