Tesla slashes prices across Europe on Model Y
(Source: Tesla)
Tesla has slashed the prices of its Model Y across Europe this morning, after it reduced prices of its Model 3 and Model Y prices in China to undercut BYD, according to CNBC.
In Germany, Tesla reduced the price of its Model Y Long Range by €5,000 to €49,990 ($54,340), a discount of 9%. It also cut the price of its Model Y Performance by €5,000 to €55,990, an 8% discount. The automaker joined Volkswagen and BYD in reducing prices after the government ended EV incentives, according to Automotive News Europe. But compared to BYD’s drastic 15% cuts, Tesla is taking a more measured approach.
German drivers can also get the Model Y for €42,990 – €1,900 less than the previous price.
The Model Y was Germany’s top-selling BEV in 2023, with some 45,800 new car registrations. However, Tesla lost its No. 1 position as the country’s best-selling BEV brand to Volkswagen. VW reports BEV sales of 70,628 units last year, a 12% increase, compared to Tesla’s 63,685, a 9% drop.
In France, Tesla Model Y prices were cut by up to 6.7%, up to 7.7% in the Netherlands, and up to 7.1% in Norway, CNBC reports.
Electrek reported last week that BYD is dropping prices of its EVs in Germany by as much as 15%, with its Atto 3 compact SUV seeing the biggest cuts. BYD only sold 4,140 cars in Germany in 2023, but is looking for 10% market share after its factory in Hungary starts production in a few years.
VW has also been slashing prices on the ID line in France, Belgium, Germany, and Norway, among other countries. While VW beat Tesla in Germany, it trailed by a long shot in EV sales in France. In 2023, VW sold 4,791 ID3s, making it only the 84th most popular model overall and 13th best-selling EV, Automotive News Europe reports. In France, the Tesla Model Y, the best-selling EV, sold 37,124 units.
In Norway, VW has made more critical cuts to the ID3’s price tag, to stay competitive in a market that has achieved 82% percent of sales being EVs – 20% of those sales being a Tesla in 2023. Belgium and Sweden will also see revised vehicles and lower prices. In Belgium, the ID3 is now priced at €39,990 and the ID4 for €39,649, both now eligible for an EV bonus of €5,000.
Meanwhile, Tesla is stopping production of most of its EV production at Giga Berlin, which builds the Model Y for European markets, from January 29 to February 11 due to battery deliveries from China being delayed due to the Red Sea shipping crisis. Volvo, too, has rerouted its shipping and announced delays at its factory in Ghent, Belgium.
Electrek’s Take
Europe has been rolling back on its EV incentives, with Germany ending its EV subsidy program in December after paying out €10 billion since 2016. A tighter new budget pushed the decision to drop it early, which was a bit of a surprise since subsidies were originally intended to run through the end of this year. Automakers VW, Stellantis, Mercedes, and Audi have said that they will absorb some or all of the costs of EV incentives, but it’s obviously not a long-term solution. Norway has dropped its EV incentives, and France has also radically changed its EV incentives to exclude vehicles made in China, squeezing out the Tesla Model 3. And BYD is looking to make some serious moves in Europe, and now that it will be building EVs in Hungary in the next couple of years. So we’re likely to see more of these price shifts and cuts as the industry settles into a new normal, post-subsidies. Meanwhile, Tesla shares were down 1.6% in U.S. premarket trading, according to CNBC.
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Tesla has wiped off the 26,000 miles on the odometer of a Cybertruck in service, scratched the vehicle, and then returned it to the owner like nothing happened.
A Tesla Cybertruck owner in Oregon was quite surprised when he went to pick up his Cybertruck, which was in service to install a new lightbar, fix some panel gaps, and figure out an ABS alert that wouldn’t go away.
According to a thread on the Cybertruck Owners Club, Tesla had wiped the odometer clean on the Foundation Series ‘Cyberbeast’, which had over 26,000 miles on it.
The owner shared a video of the Cybertruck’s odometer going from 0 to 1 mile for the second time:
The odometer on the vehicle was wiped and both the app and service many also showed the same mileage.
The owner shared a screenshot of the app after 15 miles:
He went to the online forum for advice:
Anyone else have their odometer Thanos-snapped after a controller swap? Can Tesla unsnap it or am I forever “True Mileage Unknown”?
Interestingly, Tesla is currently being sued for allegedly messing with the odometers of its vehicles. However, the lawsuit is for accelerating the mileage, not reducing it, like in this case.
It was not the only surprise from this service visit for this Cybertruck owner.
The owner was not satisfied with the lightbar installation, which he claims has a half-inch gap on the passenger side while it is flush on the driver side. He wrote:
It’s basically smiling sideways at everyone.
It’s also unclear why Tesla was messing with the vehicle’s tailgate, but it ended up having a bolt moving around it, causing scratches and Tesla left a bolt unbolted:
At this point, the truck was returned with more problems than it had when it entered service.
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Nissan is on the brink of collapsing. After the Honda deal fell through, it looks like another Japanese automaker is tossing it a lifeline. As Nissan struggles to stay afloat, Toyota is emerging as a potential “backer” in a new tie-up.
Are Toyota and Nissan partnering?
“If we don’t take action now, the situation will only get worse,” Nissan’s President, Ivan Espinosa, said during a press conference on May 13.
Facing falling sales, ballooning debt, and slumping profits, Nissan introduced a new recovery plan last week, “Re:Nissan.” The struggling automaker aims to cut costs by 250 billion yen to return to profitability by FY 2026.
As part of its efforts to turn the business around, Nissan will cut 20,000 jobs by FY2027. It’s also abandoning plans to build a new EV battery facility in Japan. Seven other plants will be closed, including one in Thailand and two in Japan.
After its planned EV merger with Honda fell through in February, rumours surfaced that Nissan was scrambling to find another partner.
According to a new report from Japan’s MainiChi, a Toyota executive recently reached out to Nissan about a potential partnership. The tie-up could involve Toyota acting as Nissan’s “backer” to support it while it restructures.
Nissan and Toyota both unveiled a wave of new electric vehicles set to roll out over the next few years. The upgraded Nissan LEAF EV will arrive in the US and Canada later this year with more range, an NACS port, and a new crossover style. It will be one of ten new Nissan or Infiniti models to arrive by 2027.
In Europe, Nissan will launch the next-gen LEAF later this year, followed by the new Micra EV and Qashqai electric crossover. In 2026, the new Nissan Juke EV will join the lineup.
Meanwhile, Toyota’s upgraded bZ electric SUV (formerly the “bZ4X”) will arrive at US dealerships in the second half of 2025.
In 2026, the smaller C-HR electric SUV and rugged bZ Woodland EV will follow. By the end of the year, Europe will see three new Toyota electric SUVs: the C-HR+, Urban Cruiser, and upgraded bZ4X.
Electrek’s Take
Toyota already has a stake in several Japanese automakers, including Subaru (20%), Mazda (5.1%), Suzuki (4.6%), and Isuzu (5.9%), so backing Nissan wouldn’t come as a shock.
Espinosa said Nissan was open to new partnerships. Nissan’s chief said the company will continue collaborating with others, including Mitsubishi, which will use the upcoming LEAF as the basis for its new EV for North America.
Japanese carmakers have been notoriously slow in shifting to all-electric vehicles, which is now costing them in key overseas markets like Southeast Asia, Central and South America, and others.
Chinese EV leaders, like BYD, are quickly expanding overseas to drive growth this year. Next year, it will launch its first kei car (see the first spy shots), or mini EV, which is already being called “a huge threat” to Japan.
Pooling resources and teaming up may be the best (or only) option at this point. Can Toyota help Nissan turn things around? Or will it be too little, too late? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Check back soon for details. This is a developing story. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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