Tesla Model Y News

Model Y gets a battery boost.

Tesla has clawed itself out of its sales slump in Australia, achieving its best monthly sales figure in the past 12 months.

There’s a new number-one seller in town. The Ford Ranger has run down the Toyota RAV4 at the halfway point of the yearly sales race.

Maybe it’s the Ferrari SUV looks or the competitive pricing, but whatever it is Chinese car manufacturer Xiaomi's YU7 electric SUV is selling faster than it’s possible for the company to make, with 240,000 locked-in orders being placed in China within 18 hours after its launch.With a starting price of about A$54,000, the five-metre long five-seater YU7 is a rival to Tesla's Model Y, BYD Sealion 7, Zeekr’s 7X and BYD’s upcoming Tang L. And its popularity should have those carmaking behemoths shaking in their boots.The huge number of orders for the YU7 means Xiaomi's production capacity has been overwhelmed and it will take until early 2027 for it to be able to produce those 240,000 locked-in orders.Xiaomi currently only has one plant located in Beijing with an annual capacity of 150,000 units.  A second plant is under construction and is expected to be operational this month with an annual capacity of 150,000 units as well.In China the YU7 is offered in three grades. The range kicks off with the Standard grade, featuring a single motor powering the rear wheels and producing 235W and 528Nm. Stepping up to the Pro grade brings all-wheel drive and two motors with a combined output of 365kW and 690Nm. Both use a 96.3kWh LFP battery.  Top-of-the-range Max is also all-wheel drive and its motors produce a whopping 508kW and 866Nm. That's enough grunt to throw this SUV from 0 to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds. A bigger 101kWh NCM battery is in the Max.The YU7 is Xiaomi's second vehicle to come to market following the SU7 saloon’s arrival in May, 2024. A rival to Tesla's Model 3 the SU7 has also seen outstanding sales numbers with more than 258,000 sold since its launch. Xiaomi is better known as an electronics maker producing phones especially. While it hasn't been confirmed if the company will come to Australia, given the success of rival Chinese companies like BYD, Geely and MG it's likely the company will bring its products here at some point. 

Euro NCAP’s Technical Manager of Assisted Driving Systems, Adriano Palao, has criticised Tesla’s autopilot software, going so far as to say the suite is “misleading consumers about the system’s capabilities”.The fresh retort of Tesla’s autonomous driving technology comes as Euro NCAP detailed the differences in a variety of similar systems on the market, noting “some systems are more user-centric and safe than others”.Performance testing for the Model S - which is no longer sold in Australia - had the safety body determining that it performed poorly awarding it just 30 per cent for its Assistance Competence score.The Assistance Competence score ranks autonomous features for their performance, clarity of information, how they communicate capability limitations, driver monitoring, and driver collaboration. It is distinguished from the Safety Backup score, which ranks how the systems avoid a collision in a variety of situations, as well as when a sensor is blocked or the driver is unresponsive.The body noted it was jarring the Model S scored an Excellent 94 per cent for its Safety Backup score, but just 30 per cent for Assistance Competence.Euro NCAP said not only does Tesla name the system Autopilot and suggest full automation in its promotional material, but also noted the system’s steering input was resistant to driver attempts to override it, and upon doing so, the entire system automatically disengages, “limiting its usefulness”.The body also noted issues with the centrally-mounted touchscreen, in that the driver had to take their eyes off the road to view alerts.Euro NCAP ultimately said: “Tesla is misleading consumers about their autopilot system’s capabilities simply through its name and marketing, which could have potential safety implications.”Tesla was not the only company marketed on its safety credentials who came under fire in the latest round of autonomous system testing. Even Volvo’s new EX30 crossover was in the firing line, with the safety body earmarking similar concerns about its autonomous driving tech.The EX30 performed better than the Tesla in the Assistance Competence score, landing at 62 per cent, although was marked down for similar reasons to the Model S, it recorded a score less than the Tesla for its Safety Backup, at 72 per cent.Both cars, alongside the MG ZS, were awarded an overall Moderate rating for their active safety suites. Other cars considered in the round of testing included the Kia EV3, Porsche Macan, and Toyota bZ4X, all of which received a Very Good overall score, while the Mazda CX-80 and Xpeng G9 recorded a Good overall rating.Euro NCAP’s latest round of autonomous driving feature testing comes as the technology proliferates across a much wider spectrum of the market. Many brands now spruik some level of autonomous driving through an advanced cruise control suite, although as Euro NCAP notes, not all of these systems are created equal, and just ticking feature boxes does not always result in a safer system.In addition to more thorough testing of autonomous driving systems, Euro NCAP will also include standards for automakers to include physical buttons and dials from 2026, labelling the overuse of touchscreens an “industry-wide problem, raising the risk of distraction crashes”.Euro NCAP said the new protocols will encourage manufacturers to use separate, physical controls for basic functions in an intuitive manner, limiting eyes off-road time and therefore promoting safer driving.Under the new protocols, cars will be marked down by not including physical switches for indicators, hazard lights, the horn, operating windscreen wipers, and activating the SOS function.

Australian new-car sales were resilient in May despite economic headwinds.

Musk's erratic communications surrounding low-cost models caused confusion within Tesla and with investors according to a new report.

For Melbourne drivers who hate those pesky CBD hook turns, Tesla may have found you a solution. That is, if you’re willing to put your life into the hands of computer software.

Tesla says it will turnaround a sales slump, overcome a stagnating of the electric vehicle space in Australia, and take down one of the country's best-selling vehicles in the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, in a series of bold predictions following the launch of the updated Tesla Model Y Juniper.

The BYD Sealion 7 was Australia's best-selling EV in April, marking the first time the brand has claimed the title since arriving locally in 2022.Last month, Australians bought 743 BYD Sealion 7s as opposed to 500 Tesla Model Ys (280) and Model 3s (220), which is Tesla's lowest monthly sales since August 2022, according to sales data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Electric Vehicle Council.The result brings the Model Y's five-month consecutive lead as Australia's best-selling EV to an end, while marking only the second time since August 2022 a Tesla model hasn't claimed the title.BYD’s total sales were more than six times that of Tesla’s last month, making April the second consecutive month it has been a top-ten brand in Australia.More than a third of BYD’s sales (1293) came from the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute, which has notched up 6129 sales so far this year.The new Kia EV5 (342) and Geely EX5 (324) also outsold the Model Y, which was Australia’s best-selling EV for the entirety of 2023 and 2024.Tesla’s Australian sales fell by a staggering 76 per cent last month compared to April the previous year as the brand's global quarter one profits nosedived by 71 per cent.Many have pointed the finger at the controversial politics of CEO Elon Musk, who has been overseeing the Trump Administration’s cost-cutting measures as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).The picture couldn’t look any different for BYD, which grew its global profits by 100.3 per cent in quarter one compared to the previous year. The vast majority of sales still come from its home market, though the brand plans to sell 800,000 cars overseas this year.Musk has said he will start returning his focus to Tesla this month as his work with DOGE concludes.A Wall Street Journal report that claimed the Tesla board was looking to oust the controversial figurehead was quickly shut down by the brand and Musk himself, who called the report an “EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS” on his social media site X (formerly Twitter).Tesla sales are expected to uptick next month as the brand officially changes over to its new Model Y. It promises more driving range and a slew of new updates, but whether it can regain the podium against a growing cohort of new Chinese and South Korean rivals is proving an uphill battle.*Best-selling electric-only models included