A couple of Tesla Model Y electric SUVs from the United States have reached Europe and have been seen in Germany and Netherlands in the past week or so. My friend Hans Noordsij took a brilliant photo of one of them at the Dordrecht Supercharger in the province of North Holland.
Previously it was speculated that no Tesla Model Y would be seen in Europe before 2021, it must have been said because the Gigafactory Berlin is expected to complete next year and the first product that will be manufactured at this facility will be the Model Y European version.
The current ones we see in pictures and the video below are the North American versions imported by either individuals or businesses for testing and rental purposes.
Although some Model Y enthusiasts from Europe said that this was the same car that was seen in Germany a few days ago but it isn’t as the license plates are different in both sightings as the owner from Germany posted his red Model Y pictures Twitter as well.
Erster. Ätsch! – Am Donnerstag bin ich dann mal ne kleine Runde Y gefahren.
— Roland Schüren (@EcoCarer1) May 18, 2020pic.twitter.com/7r8at0vH5D
Another Tesla Model Y appeared in a video from one of Germany’s top car rental company NextMove.de — but again it had a different license plate than the one in the above pictures, color: Red, it seems like Europeans have a crush on red Model Ys. Model Ys seen in the above pictures and the following video all three vehicles have the ‘jbcarconcept.de’ website mentioned on the license plates.
According to Hans, the green Dutch license plate on the first Model Y above is a ‘temporary plate for testing’, a possibility of the German Model Y being tested in the Netherlands with a testing plate shouldn’t be ruled out.
According to sources, this Tesla Model Y from Germany is available for rental use but with strict terms and conditions because of the vehicle’s extreme rarity in the country/region — the terms say if the vehicle is damaged during rental use, the person renting it will have to purchase the vehicle irrespective of who’s fault resulted in the damage occurred, ouch!
In the past, NextMove signed an MOU with Tesla to purchase 100 Model 3 cars but later on, they reverted back this decision by saying that they weren’t 100% satisfied with the build quality of the US-made Tesla Model 3 — now the situation is different as the Model Y compact SUVs will be built in Europe for the European market, NextMove might be seriously considering adding these to their fleet.
Hans also noted that according to his information, the charge port on this Model Y was the US Type-2 and not CCS and an adapter was used to charge the electric vehicle.
At the time of the Tesla Model 3 launch in the region, the automaker retrofitted European Supercharger stations with the CCS connectors and shipped the Model 3 cars with the CCS charge port to Europe to enable the Model 3 cars with 3rd-party charging options in addition to the Tesla Supercharging.
Netherlands is home to the Tesla HQ Europe, we will not be surprised if Tesla brings a test fleet of Tesla Model Ys before starting production at the Gigafactory Berlin.
More on Tesla Model Y:
- ‘Bask in its silent intensity’ — Model Y video review by Kelley Blue Book
- ‘Ferrari and Lamborghini are in the same way people use horses now’, Jay Leno’s Model Y review
- ‘This car should be a wakeup call for any manufacturer’ — Model Y teardown verdict
- A rare look inside Tesla Gigafactory Berlin shows a tremendous amount of progress
