The Tesla Model Y will be substantially updated this year with a new look, an interior overhaul and much improved performance figures.
The updated version of the EV, which was the world’s best-selling car in 2023, has now been spotted testing in Europe ahead of its imminent showroom arrival on the continent.
The SUV’s immense commercial success makes it Tesla’s most important asset and the American EV maker will look to leverage it in an attempt to move out of a prolonged sales dip, during which it has been without a month-on-month deliveries increase since the end of 2023.
The latest test mules of the updated SUV – codenamed Project Juniper – reveal a number of new design elements for a car that has not been updated since its 2020 launch.
The most notable is the split-headlight design, which has not previously been seen on a Tesla model and looks to take inspiration from the new Polestar 4.
At the rear, the revised Model Y will be differentiated most obviously from the current car by a new light bar that is notably different from the C-shaped clusters added to the back of the Model 3.
Because the car has not been updated in almost five years, it no longer so obviously offers a usability and performance advantage over its rivals. The SUV’s maximum 331-mile range, for example – seen as a headline attribute at its launch – has now been surpassed by cheaper rivals such as the Skoda Enyaq and Peugeot e-3008.
Addressing that shortcoming will be a focus of the Model Y’s facelift, as it was for the Model 3, which can now travel up to 8% farther on a charge than it did previously, thanks to extensive revisions to its aerodynamics and electronics.
Although it is not immediately apparent from the heavily camouflaged test mules, the Model Y’s revised front end will follow the updated Model 3 in featuring a bumper that has been reshaped to cut through the air more efficiently and boost range while also reducing wind noise at a cruise.
This treatment lowered the Model 3’s drag coefficient from 0.23 to 0.219, making it one of the slipperiest cars on sale.
