Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Tesla’s highly anticipated facelift of the Model Y, the world’s best-selling vehicle, appears to be edging closer to its debut. Although the official launch date remains unknown, the updated SUV, codenamed “Juniper,” has been spotted in road testing across the United States, Europe, and China over the last few months.
On Thursday, the clearest images yet of the revamped Model Y surfaced on social media, showing the electric SUV undergoing winter testing in China. For the first time, the model was photographed without any camouflage.
The photos confirm a key design change: the inclusion of sleek, full-width light bars at both the front and rear, reminiscent of Tesla’s Cybertruck-inspired design language introduced last year.
Tesla’s Model Y Juniper will feature new side mirrors and wheels, similar in design to the 19-inch ones on the new Model 3. As of today, it is still unknown whether Tesla is also launching a Model Y Performance variant.
Earlier this week, Tesla updated the delivery date for the Model Y RWD to May or June across most European markets, signaling that the company plans to start delivering the new Model Y in Europe in the second quarter.
Production of the 2025 Model Y is already underway in trial stages at Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory. According to reports from Chinese media outlets, the Shanghai plant began pre-production of the facelifted model last October and has recently reached a daily output of up to 600 units.
Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory is also expected to manufacture the new Model Y for the European market. However, Shanghai is expected to remain the primary production hub for the updated SUV.
Tesla delivered 495,570 vehicles in the last quarter of 2024, setting a new record. Despite the new quarterly high, Tesla’s 2024 deliveries stood at 1,789,226, down 1% from the 1.81 million units delivered in 2023.
Tesla had said in October that it expected to achieve “slight growth in vehicle deliveries in 2024,” and aims to deliver more than 500,000 vehicles in a single quarter for the first time.
Tesla China’s sales increased by 18.9% in December, rising from 78,856 vehicles in November to 93,766 vehicles, according to the Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
