Tesla Wants To Lure Back Chinese Customers With Longer Model Y L

Tesla

Good morning! It's Tuesday, August 19, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, Tesla looks to triumph backmost Chinese buyers pinch a longer Model Y, Teamsters are picketing non-union car carriers astatine GM plants, Chinese EV makers person their sites group connected different markets, and electrified Canadian income aren't going very well.

It's different engaged day, friends. Buckle up.

Tesla

Tesla needs a triumph successful China aft months of losing crushed to home-grown competition, and it believes nan recently elongated six-seater Model Y L will beryllium nan reply to its prayers. The Austin, Texas-based automaker started accepting orders for nan caller car this week pinch a starting value of 339,000 yuan — astir $47,200. That's correct successful statement pinch section rivals that are each vying to triumph complete middle-class families successful nan country.

The Model Y L (not nan champion sanction successful nan world) is astir 5.9 inches longer than a modular Model Y, and it's designed to amended accommodate a 3rd row. Technically, you tin get a modular Model Y pinch a 3rd row, but that's sadistic and different punishment. It besides comes pinch 467 miles of range, according to Tesla — putting it connected par pinch nan capacity type of nan existent five-seat car it sells successful nan country. From Bloomberg:

The pricing puts nan six-seat exemplary successful nonstop title pinch Li Auto's L8 version and nan Huawei-backed Aito M8. Tesla has been losing crushed to home manufacturers, pinch shipments from its Shanghai mill slipping backmost into diminution successful July and section deliveries plummeting 12% from nan aforesaid play past year.

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The caller variant's pricing seeks to dress up for delays successful much precocious driver-assistance features that Tesla has marketed arsenic Full Self-Driving, aliases FSD. The institution has piloted nan functions pinch its users since February, but has made slow progress.

While Tesla's world lineup has remained mostly accordant for years, nan caller Model Y L suggests an effort to summation stock successful nan world's largest car market, wherever caller EV models are launched each month. Earlier this month, nan American EV shaper unveiled a longer-range Model 3 sedan successful China, tin of an extended 830 kilometers connected a charge.

It's difficult to opportunity if this caller exemplary will dress up for each of the harm CEO Elon Musk has done to nan company's brand aliases nan elemental truth that home-grown automakers are building amended vehicles astatine much competitory prices, but I suppose clip will tell. Tesla has been connected rather nan self-inflicted losing streak lately, truthful it really needs nan Model Y L to beryllium a success

Teamsters

Car haul Teamsters from 3 section unions are picketing extracurricular 3 General Motors plants successful Michigan, Kentucky and Missouri because of activity being done by non-union car carriers astatine nan plants. The national says they are bringing down costs and use standards for unionized workers. 

GM produces heavy-duty variants of nan Silverado and Sierra astatine nan Michigan plant, Corvettes astatine nan Kentucky works and nan Colorado/Canyon and Express/Savana astatine nan Missouri works successful From Automotive News:

The GM plants [...] are unionized, but usage immoderate nonunion operators, nan national said. The Teamsters said nan nonunion operators aren't sticking to nan wages and benefits agreed to by nan union. A national connection did not place nan nonunion carriers.

"Nonunion carriers retired of these plants are dragging down standards that Teamsters person fought for decades to win," Avral Thompson, president of Teamsters Local 89 and head of nan Teamsters Carhaul Division. said successful nan statement.

It wasn't clear if nan picket lines were only for informational purposes aliases if they were disrupting postulation entering aliases exiting nan plants. It besides wasn't clear really galore Teamsters pickets were connected manus astatine each plant.

"We are alert of nan beingness of Teamster informational picketers astatine a mini number of our facilities," GM said successful an emailed statement. "While we respect nan correct to serene demonstration, our apical privilege remains nan information and well-being of our employees. We are actively monitoring nan situation."

These protests are happening arsenic nan Teamsters hole to discuss a caller contract. The existent 1 is group to expire astatine nan extremity of this month.

Solidarity forever, baby.

TY Lim/Shutterstock

Chinese companies progressive pinch its electrical conveyance industry really spent much money overseas than they did astatine location for nan first clip past year. Companies on nan EV proviso concatenation invested astir $16 cardinal overseas past year. Most of that comes from artillery production. That's up of nan $15 cardinal they spent astatine home.

It's a immense alteration of gait erstwhile you see nan truth that for years, astir 80% of investments were spent successful their location market. From Bloomberg:

Chinese companies are being driven to grow globally arsenic overcapacity and a long-running value warfare astatine location compression margins each on nan proviso chain. They are besides seeking to skirt punishing tariffs successful Europe and nan US by building accumulation accommodation there, and bowing to unit from overseas customers for much localized production.

"The truth that overseas investments now outpace home ones reflects a saturated Chinese marketplace and nan strategical entreaty of expanding overseas for higher returns," said Armand Meyer, elder investigation expert astatine Rhodium and an writer of nan report.

About three-quarters of nan outbound finance came from artillery makers, reflecting nan superior intensive quality of nan industry. Major artillery makers for illustration Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., Envision Group and Gotion High-Tech Co. person followed existing clients for illustration Tesla Inc. and BMW AG abroad, driven by precocious carrier costs and requests for localized supply, according to nan report.

CATL, arsenic nan world's biggest EV artillery shaper is known, successful June said it is making overseas description its "No.1 priority" arsenic aggravated title successful China's home car marketplace threatens nan industry's health. BYD Co., China's top-selling automaker, has factories successful Brazil and Thailand, and is readying accommodation successful Turkey and Indonesia. Chery Automobile Co. has pledged to group up a $1 cardinal electrical conveyance mill successful Turkey.

This news is truthful astonishing because overseas projects thin to beryllium much expensive, return longer to build and look higher regulatory and governmental risks. Just 25% of EV manufacturing projects announced overseas person really been vanished — compared pinch 45% astatine home.

President Donald Trump isn't helping matters, either. Last month, BYD indefinitely shelved plans to build a awesome works successful Mexico because of bad boy geopolitical tensions and U.S. tariff policies that displacement pinch nan wind.

VisualArtStudio/Shutterstock

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid income successful Canada shrank for nan 5th consecutive period successful June, acknowledgment to nan extremity of a $5,000 national inducement programme that went distant successful January. EV and PHEV income totaled conscionable 14,090 units successful June. That's a 35.2% driblet from nan aforesaid clip a twelvemonth ago. Despite that, wide income were up 6.2% to 177,313 vehicles successful June. From Automotive News:

ZEV income successful Canada stumbled to commencement 2025, arsenic long-time national and provincial inducement programs ran retired of rate aliases faced argumentation changes, and person yet to bounce back. They accounted for 7.9 per cent of each vehicles sold successful Canada successful June, down from 13 per cent successful nan aforesaid period of 2024 and acold short of nan monthly precocious of astir 20 per cent successful December.

Auto experts spot small imaginable of a short-term turnaround if nan authorities does not measurement backmost successful pinch rebates.

Steve Flamand, CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada Corp., said nan institution is trading astir half arsenic galore EVs arsenic it did successful 2024.

"Until there's a amended equilibrium betwixt nan transaction value and nan government's appetite to electrify, it's going to beryllium difficult," he told Automotive News Canada.

There mightiness beryllium immoderate alleviation connected nan sky for Canadian buyers, though. Since April, lawmakers successful Ottawa person many times vowed that they will revive nan zero-emission conveyance rebate program, but they person yet to opportunity erstwhile that would really happen.

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