New Tesla Model Y 6-seater is one step closer to the UK as it gets right-hand drive approval
Tesla is expanding its electric SUV to hit new segments
The Tesla Model Y is already one of the best family EVs you can buy, thanks in part to its massive interior space, but the brand is working on making it even more practical with a new six-seater variant.
We knew Tesla was in the midst of creating a six-seat Model Y after it was leaked on China’s Ministry of Industry and Information website last summer as the ‘Model Y L’, giving us our first undisguised look at the longer, more practical iteration of the American firm’s hugely-popular electric SUV.
Now, fresh documents reveal the new Model Y variant has gained approval for the Australian market. With right-hand drive versions confirmed, this makes it easier for Tesla to potentially bring the six-seater to the UK market.
Tesla has been expanding its Model Y and Model 3 ranges in recent months, bringing out ‘Standard’ (later re-named Rear-Wheel Drive) versions to lower their respective entry prices and increase sales. Even the Cybertruck has gained a new entry-level variant, although unlike the Model Y six-seater, the electric pick-up is very unlikely to reach the UK.
We’re yet to see inside but we expect this new Model Y will have a seating configuration of two up front, two in the middle and two in a third row. If you’re after an even more capacious seven-seat Tesla, the Model X came with the option of seven seats and can be had on the Auto Express Buy A Car service from less than £20,000.
Compared with the standard car’s 4,792mm length, the Model Y is 177mm longer – 150mm of that comes from expanding the distance between the two axles. Tesla has also increased the height of the new version, from 1,624mm to 1,668mm.
The images for the Australian market approval show a Model Y unchanged from the Chinese patent images. The Model Y six-seater gets a new 19-inch wheel design, a fresh boot lip spoiler and a new gold paint finish. The bootlid itself is a bespoke pressing, to create extra height for third-row passengers’ headroom.
The Chinese patent filing suggested a dual-motor powertrain for the Model Y with potentially 455bhp – more than the 375bhp output of the AWD dual-motor model we get in the UK. The long-wheelbase version does have to lug around some extra weight, however – 2,088kg compared with the regular-sized car’s 1,997kg kerbweight.
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