Since the end of 2021, Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai has been rolling out more Model Ys than Model 3s (according to data from a post on X), but demand for the SUV crossover has exploded in the last year.
The Gigafactory recently celebrated its two millionth electric vehicle produced in September 2023 and hit another major milestone in July 2023 with 1 million Model Ys built, as per Teslarati.
While the Model 3 was initially more popular, the Model Y quickly took its place, even becoming the world's bestselling EV (and car in general) in the first and second quarters of 2023, according to news platforms The Verge and GreenCars.
In 2023, Giga Shanghai produced twice as many Model Ys as Model 3s to meet the skyrocketing demand, according to Troy Teslike (@TroyTeslike), a data-driven Tesla account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The account estimated that Giga Shanghai will produce roughly 310,000 Model 3s and 641,200 Model Ys for the 2023 sales year, including "a new record" estimated in the fourth quarter for the factory.
It seems the increasing demand for Model Ys is due partially to massive price cuts by Tesla earlier this year. In January, the suggested retail price of a base Model Y dropped by $13,000, Electrek reported, not including tax incentives or gas savings. Tesla once again slashed prices for all variants of the crossover model in April, per Electrek, implementing a $3,000 price drop.
According to Tesla's website, the Model Y currently costs $43,990 for the base rear-wheel-drive option before tax credits and estimated gas savings.
With the company's history of aggressive price reductions, it's not too far-fetched to assume the trend might continue in 2024. If Tesla does offer price cuts again to drive sales, it would certainly help to make EV ownership more accessible for many consumers.
Tesla's strategy to boost demand seems to have worked, as the Model Y is sold out in China for 2023, as CleanTechnica reported.
The company set a target to make and deliver 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, and according to Wall Street analysts cited by Investors.com, it will come very close to hitting that mark with around 1.797 million cars delivered globally.
Tesla enthusiast and investor Roland Pircher (@piloly) on X gave reason to believe the company will reach its goal.
He tweeted that the factory "set a new production record at 90,802 Model Y and 3 in November … this is the second month in a row that production has been significantly higher than wholesale. Delivering this difference in December could lead to record sales like last November."
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