Tesla Model Y is Electrek’s vehicle of the year
For 2023, Electrek has decided to make the Tesla Model Y its vehicle of the year. Well, it’s not as much us who decided, car buyers did.
With Model Y becoming the first electric vehicle to become the best-selling car in the world, how can we not make it the vehicle of the year?
Generally, when choosing a new vehicle of the year, publications choose new vehicles that launched that year. And there were plenty of fantastic new electric vehicles that came to market in 2023.
But we feel it’s more appropriate to choose the electric vehicle that has had the best impact this year, and by that criteria, I think Model Y is the undeniable winner.
Throughout the year, Model Y has broken records across many markets by not only becoming the best-selling electric vehicle but also becoming the best-selling vehicle period in those markets.
Last year, Model Y already became the fourth best-selling vehicle in the world behind only the Ford F-Series, Toyota Rav4, and Toyota Corolla.
Model Y was at about 750,000 units, while the Corolla was sitting in first with 1.1 million.
In 2023, with all those new records in massive markets, the electric vehicle is on track to beat that number while the Corolla is slightly down.
That should make the Tesla Model Y the best-selling passenger vehicle in the world in 2023.
Tesla achieved that by adding Model Y production to Gigafactory Texas and Berlin on top of the existing production in Fremont, California, and Shanghai, China.
On the demand side, Tesla had to cut prices throughout the year to keep orders coming in amid increasing interest rates, but the automaker was able to do that thanks to its industry-leading gross margin.
The feat is also impressive considering the fact that Model Y starts at exactly twice the $22,0000 starting price of the Corolla in the US.
Most of the industry laughed at Elon Musk when the CEO estimated the demand for the Model Y between 500,000 and 1,000,000 units per year back in 2016.
Now, it’s even exceeding that.
It’s hard to overstate the impact of having an electric vehicle program now reaching 1 million units annually and becoming the best-selling passenger car in the world.
Tesla’s mission was always to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles both directly with its own vehicles and indirectly by putting pressure on the industry. The Model Y managed to do both by adding an enormous number of EVs on the road that are replacing gas mileage and by showing the rest of the industry that if they want to have the best-selling car now, it needs to be electric.
Tesla Model Y
It’s clear why Model Y sells so well. It took everything Tesla did great with Model 3, and there’s a lot of that, and made it into a form factor that fits the most popular segment in the world: small SUVs/crossovers.
The vehicle has the performance and driving dynamics of a sports car, the cargo space of a small SUV, and that’s subjective, obviously, but it looks fantastic.
The design is simple yet strong. Many say it looks too much like Model 3, but can’t you blame Tesla if it happens that Model 3’s design transforms so well into a crossover?
Model Y can also have a factory tow package with a small but still useful 3,500-lbs towing capacity. This contributes to making Model Y a sort of Swiss army knife of a car.
The Model Y also has the same advantages as all Tesla vehicles, like the over-the-air software updates that make the vehicle better (for the most part) every few months.
I know that the spartan interior of the Model Y is a bit polarizing, but I like it:
It’s not crowded with buttons and controls. Even the AC fans and speakers are hidden. It helps create a zen feeling to the vehicle’s interior. Whenever I sit in my Model 3 (very similar interior to Model Y), I feel relaxed, which is a welcomed feeling when you are about to sit Montreal traffic for an hour.
Also, if you haven’t sat in the latest generation of Model Y and Model 3, I would recommend it. Tesla has made a lot of improvements to its seats. I understand that it depends on your body type, but it is perfect for me (6’0″, 180 lbs).
The Full Self-Driving package is a wild card, and its value depends on your faith in Tesla delivering on its promise, but Autopilot is a solid level 2 driver assist system.
If I was going to list all the cool technology in the Model Y, we would be here all day, but as a Northerner, I want to mention the very efficient heat pump in Model Y. It’s a game changer for winter driving in colder climates.
With all that technology, smart design, and performance, a starting price of $44,000, which is $4,000 less than the average new car price in the US, and up to 330 miles of range, it’s easy to see why Model Y would be so popular.
It’s so popular that it is now the best-selling passenger car in the world. But today, it receives its biggest honor yet: being Electrek’s vehicle of the year.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Mitsubishi is partnering with Ample and Yamoto Transports to deploy an innovative new battery swap network for electric cars in its Japanese home market — but it’s not just for electric cars. Mitsubishi Fuso commercial trucks are getting in on the action, too!
Despite a number of early EV adopters with an overdeveloped concept of ownership, battery swap technology has proven to be both extremely effective and extremely positive to the overall EV ownership experience. And when you see how simple it is to add hundreds of miles of driving in just 100 seconds — quicker, in many cases, than pumping a tank of liquid fuel into an ICE-powered car — you might come around, yourself.
That seems to be what Mitsubishi thinks, anyway, and they’re hoping they’ll be your go-to choice when it’s time to electrify your regional and last-mile commercial delivery fleet(s) by launching a multi-year pilot program to deploy more than 150 battery-swappable commercial electric vehicles and 14 modular battery swapping stations across Tokyo, where the company plans to showcase its “five minute charging” tech in full view of hundreds of commercial fleets and, crucially, the executives of the companies that own and manage them.
A truck like the Mitsubishi eCanter typically requires a full night of AC charging to top off its batteries, and at least an hour or two on DC charging in Japan, according to Fuso. This joint pilot by Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks, and Ample aims to circumvent this issue of forced downtime with its swappable batteries, supporting vehicle uptime by delivering a full charge within minutes. The move is meant to encourage the transport industry’s EV shift while creating a depository of stored energy that can be deployed to the grid in the event of a natural disaster — something Mitsubishi in Japan has been working on for years.
Trucks like the eCanter already serve a number of roles throughout the global truck market, including municipal waste collection, regional delivery support, and more.
The pilot is backed by Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Technology Development Support Project for Promoting New Energy,” with local delivery operator Yamato Transport testing swappable EVs for delivery operations on both its eCanter light-duty trucks and Mitsubishi Minicab kei-class electric vans.
Electrek’s Take
Electrifying the commercial truck fleet is a key part of decarbonizing city truck fleets – not just here in the US, but around the world. I called the eCanter, “a great product for moving stuff around densely packed city streets,” and eliminating the corporate fear of EV charging in the wild just makes it an even better product for that purpose.
Here’s hoping we see more “right size” electric solutions like this one (and more battery swapping tech) in small towns and tight urban environments stateside somewhat sooner than later.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Mitsubishi, Fuso.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. The best part? No one will call you until after you’ve elected to move forward. Get started, hassle-free, by clicking here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
After becoming the first European brand to offer fully electric versions of every model it sells — and at the same price as the ICE models — Opel is going even further, with a new, AWD electric SUV that should give American Jeep fans hope for a new electric Cherokee!
Now part of the Stellantis, rather than GM portfolio of brands, Rüsselsheim-based Opel showed off the first official pictures of its new Opel Grandland Electric AWD — the company’s first all-electric SUV to feature the “Blitz” performance emblem and all-wheel drive.
“Our top-of-the-range Grandland SUV is a milestone for Opel,” says Opel CEO Florian Huettl. “Customers already have a choice of battery-electric drive, plug-in hybrid and hybrid with 48-volt technology. We are now offering even more choice with the Grandland Electric AWD and thus ensuring that our customers can enjoy maximum efficiency and safety in diverse weather and road conditions, combined with plenty of driving fun.”
Stellantis gets it right in Europe
Opel says its new, AWD Grandland is its most aerodynamically efficient model yet, with a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.278. That efficiency, paired with similarly efficient electric motors and a 73 kWh li-ion NMC battery give the electric crossover a 501 km (311 mile) WLTP range, while a combined 325 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque should make for suitably spirited acceleration to go along with all that green cred.
Suspension and handling, too, are promised to deliver on what Opel claims is a “typical” Teutonic driving experience in the Grandland AWD:
Both driving pleasure and comfort are further emphasized by dampers with frequency selective damping technology. This unique technology comes as standard on the Grandland Electric AWD and incorporates a second hydraulic circuit in the damper chamber to mechanically adapt the damping force in relation to the frequency. Depending on the situation, road surface conditions and driving style, it enables different damping characteristics for comfortable gliding at high frequencies – i.e. with short impacts such as on cobblestones or a manhole cover – as well as for a sporty, ambitious driving style with more direct contact with the road at low frequencies. The Grandland reacts even more immediately and directly to any command from the driver and, as is typical for Opel, remains stable when braking, cornering and at high speeds on the Autobahn.
OPEL PRESS RELEASE
The Opel Grandland Electric AWD ships with four standard drive modes that include “normal,” eco, sport, and 4WD mode, which simulates locking axles and true 4×4 off-road performance. The ESP and traction control systems adopt specific settings to enhance grip in 4WD mode as well, and maximum power and torque are instantly available.
Electrek’s Take
As you maybe could tell by now, feeding European Stellantis EVs into an AI image generator and asking it to “make them into Jeeps” is one of my new favorite things to do. This new Opel is no different, and the resulting image (above) paired with the models’ stated specs give me hope that the next wave of Jeep EVs will do better than the Wagoneer S at attracting buyers. All they really need, I think, is the right name — and the right price, to be winners.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Opel.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. The best part? No one will call you until after you’ve elected to move forward. Get started, hassle-free, by clicking here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Like a 90s “gifted” kid that was supposed to be a lot of things, the electric Jeep Wagoneer S never really found its place — but with dealers discounting the Jeep brands forward-looking flagship by nearly $25,000, it might be time to give the go-fast Wagoneer S a second look.
SKIP THE STORY: get straight to the deals.
Whether we’re talking about Mercedes-Benz, Cerberus, Fiat, or even Enzo Ferrari, outsiders have labeled Jeep as a potentially premium brand that could, “if managed properly,” command luxury-level prices all over the globe. That hasn’t happened, and Stellantis is just the latest in a long line of companies to sink massive capital into the brand only to realize that people will not, in fact, spend Mercedes money on a Jeep.
That said, the Jeep Wagoneer S is not a bad car (and neither is its totally different, hideously massive, ICE-powered Wagoneer sibling, frankly). Built on the same Stellantis STLA Large vehicle platform that underpins the sporty Charger Daytona EVs, the confusingly-named Wagoneer S packs dual electric motors putting out almost 600 hp. That’s good enough to scoot the ‘ute 0 to 60 mph in a stomach-turning 3.5 seconds and enough, on paper, to convince Stellantis executives that they had developed a real, market-ready alternative to the Tesla Model Y.
With the wrong name and a sky-high starting price of $66,995 (not including the $1,795 destination fee), however, that demand didn’t materialize, leaving the Wagoneer S languishing on dealer lots across the country.
That could be about to change, however, thanks to big discounts on Wagoneer S being reported at CDJR dealers in several states, according to our friends at the Car Dealership Guy podcast.
- Jimmy Britt Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Georgia, has a Wagoneer S with an MSRP of $67,590 listed at $43,104 ($24,486 off)
- In Florida, Taverna Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat has a $67,590 Wagoneer S slashed to $43,138 ($24,452 off)
- Chris Nikel Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Fiat in Oklahoma has a Wagoneer S listed for $43,425 ($24,165 off)
“Stellantis bet big on electric versions of iconic American brands like Jeep and Dodge, but consumers aren’t buying the premise,” writes CDG’s Marcus Amick. “(Stellantis’ dealer body) is now stuck with expensive EVs that need huge discounts to move, eating into already thin margins while competitors focus on [more] profitable gas-powered vehicles.”
All of which is to say: if you’ve found yourself drawn to the Jeep Wagoneer S, but couldn’t quite stomach the $70,000+ window stickers, you might want to check in with your local Jeep dealer and see how you feel about it at a JCPenneys-like 30% off!
Jeep Wagoneer S gallery
SOURCES | IMAGES: Car Dealership Guy, CarScoops, and CarsDirect.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. The best part? No one will call you until after you’ve elected to move forward. Get started, hassle-free, by clicking here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut