Tesla

• The three-row Tesla Model Y L is expected to go on sale in China before the end of this year.
• There are numerous three-row EV and EREV competitors in China, for about the same price as the Tesla Model Y.
• It’s not clear if this Model Y will ever make it outside of China.

I don’t know if it’s accurate to to say that Tesla is over China. But given Tesla’s low-effort, low-energy approach to its model line, it’s hard to see a way forward for the brand. The global markets are catching up to the brand’s offerings, and in China, a lot have surpassed Tesla in multiple ways. I don’t see the brand continuing to dominate top sales charts around the world, at least not without serious investments in brand-new models.

Case in point–the three-row Tesla Model Y, or Model Y L. This car is entering a growing and probably overcrowded market in China, the three-row “new energy” crossover segment. Within the past two weeks, several big Chinese automakers have introduced three-row crossovers aimed right at the heart of Chinese buyers in search of big crossover. Here are a few that have the potential to clip the Model Y’s wings before it ever gets off the ground.

Photo by: Li Auto

This wedge-shaped, duck-billed crossover is an important model for Li Auto. The brand has dominated Chinese sales charts with its line of EREV crossovers, but there is growing demand for a full EV, six-seat crossover. Rather than just putting a big battery underneath its existing models, it took came up with this design. 

To me, the biggest draw of the i8 is its level of third-row legroom. The old model Y’s third row was insanely tight, useful for children or adults under 5 feet only. The new Chinese Model Y L may fare better in that regard due to its extra length and longer wheelbase, but I can’t see it surpassing this i8. Li Auto says the third row has 34.4 inches of legroom (875mm). For the record, that’s about two and a half inches more than the third row in the Kia EV9 offers, and I consider that car pretty roomy. 

Photo by: Li Auto

Pricing for the three-row Model Y hasn’t been released, but I expect it to be cheaper than the i8. Li Auto just released presale pricing, and it’s not cheap by Chinese standards, about $48,750 at today’s exchange rates. But the i8 comes with a lot of stuff. Power is generous, up to 536 horsepower from its dual motor setup. This is fed by either a 90.1 kWh or 97.8 kWh battery, good for up to 447 miles of range on a single charge.

Photo by: Nio

I’ve driven the Onvo L60, the coupe-like battery swapping compact SUV that aims to outflank the Model Y at a lower price point. It’s a solid offering, but it’s a little too close to the Tesla formula without bringing too much new to the table. That’s part of why it’s a bit of an also-ran in Chinese sales charts.

The Onvo L90 may just right those wrongs, though. This super-sized three-row is about the same size as a Honda Pilot, but it’s fully electric. Oh, and at about $39,000, its base price undercuts some trims of the five-passenger Chinese-made Model Y. It’s likely to undercut the three-row version, too.

Like other Onvo, Nio and Firefly products, the L90 has the ability to swap batteries in as little as three minutes. Not long after it goes on sale later this year, it will be part of the brand’s battery as a service (BAAS) scheme, which lowers the cost of entry for the vehicle by subtracting the cost of the battery. Instead, buyers lease the battery for a monthly cost. When enrolled in the BAAS program, the Onvo L90’s price drops to a mere $27,000.

Photo by: Nio

Also, let’s have a little commotion for that huge frunk. Pretty impressive. 

Photo by: BYD

Named after the Tang dynasty (not the orange powdered drink), the medium-sized flagship three-row crossover is most impressive in its latest iteration. The BYD Tang started out as a terrible clone of the second-generation Lexus RX330. Now, it’s a technical tour de force, representing the very best we have to give in EV charging. It, and its sedan sister, the Han L, are capable of megawatt charging. BYD claims it can get to 80% in as little as five minutes. We’ve verified it; it can definitely do it.

Editor-in-Chief Patrick George has first-hand experience with the Tang L. He got to drive around in one a few days after this year’s Shanghai auto show. “It was super impressive,” he said. “Very nice interior, five-minute fast charging, 0-60 in the three-second range. A crazy advanced EV that also feels very normal. Comes as a PHEV too. It does so much right that it’d be hard to argue against buying one.

If you’re in China, this can be yours for about $33,500.

Photo by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs

This model is technically a PHEV, but both Patrick George and I have experienced the car firsthand, and it’s insanely good. The Range Rover-esque big three-row crossover has ample room for all passengers, regardless of which seat in the house you’d pick. True, it’s still got an ICE engine under the hood, but its larger-than-average 44.9 kwh to 52.4 kwh battery options offer more range than most people will realistically use in a day.

Strikingly, the Lynk & Co 900’s base price is far cheaper than either of us thought. At roughly $43,000, this big crossover is priced right at the heart of the 5-passenger Model Y. Yet, this car is way more comfortable and has so much more space than the Tesla.

Aito M8

Photo by: InsideEVs

These big EREV SUVs have been eating up the Chinese sales charts for a while now. I’m not entirely convinced by them. The Aito and Luxeed brands are essentially Huawei’s way of getting into the car business without investing in a full engineering team or proper factories like fellow tech giant, Xiaomi. But, the car’s perception of quality and its very well-executed software stack is a draw for consumers. This year, Aito released the M8 EREV crossover, a medium-sized three-row six-seat SUV full of features. Its roughly $49,000 was enough to attract 140,000 preorders.

This year, the brand has decided to do a full EV variant of the M8. Range, power and battery specifications aren’t released yet, but if it matches the value of its EREV cousin, then Huawei and Aito can expect another hit.

Conclusion

These are just five models that stuck out to me, off the top of my head. There are plenty of three-row crossovers that are going to be competing in the same segment as the new Model Y L in China that I don’t have the space to mention. For example, Xiaomi is working on a three-row boxy crossover to win over buyers who want something more than the YU7 or SU7. 

China’s EV market is very mature, and if any brand wants to compete, it’ll need more than a low-energy wheelbase stretch to win over buyers. If this is the best Tesla can offer, it needs to seriously up its game if it wants to have a future in the country.