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Tesla shakes the auto industry in Thailand with the price points of Model 3 and Model Y

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Tesla (TSLA) launched its Model 3 midsize luxury sedan and the Model Y midsize electric SUV in Thailand last week. Contrary to many analysts’ expectations, Tesla received a warm welcome in the small country with people taking a keen interest in these high-tech EVs.

According to a report by the National Thailand newspaper, Tesla sold over 5,000 Model 3 and Model Y cars in just 3 days of its launch in the country. Tesla has received an overwhelming response from Thai customers.

Prior to Tesla’s entry into the Thai car market, Chinese EVs such as the BYD Atto 3 crossover were gaining popularity, in fact, Atto 3 got 10,000 orders in just one month according to CleanTechnica.

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Now that Tesla has entered the market, it seems like the focus of Thai EV customers is shifting to Model 3 and Model Y EVs. YouTuber Bjorn Nyland who constantly tests and reviews electric cars on his channel both in Norway and Thailand, reports that one of the main reasons for this shift is Tesla’s price point.

Screenshot from Tesla online car configurator. Specs, range, and prices of Tesla Model 3 in Thailand as of 12th Dec 2022.

The price of a Tesla Model 3 in Thailand starts at ฿1.76 million baht which is almost equal to $50,600 USD. Before the official presence of Tesla in Thailand, a Tesla Model 3 would cost around $90K USD because of getting imported from Hong Kong via gray channels.

Tesla Model Y starts at around ฿1.9 baht in Thailand which is just a little above $56K USD. So, there isn’t a very big price difference between the base variants of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y in Thailand.

Screenshot from Tesla online car configurator. Specs, range, and prices of Tesla Model Y in Thailand as of 12th Dec 2022.
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Thailand is a small country with narrower roads compared to the US and China, so most of the customers might prefer a smaller more compact Tesla Model 3 over the Model Y but we don’t have specific sales data yet to support this hypothesis.

Interestingly, the range figures of Model Y/3 shown on Tesla’s Thailand car configurator are presented according to the NEDC standard. For example, Tesla Model 3 RWD base variant has a range of 559 km (337 miles) but according to the EPA standard in the US, the same car has a range of 438 km (272 miles).

Since Bjorn has already driven a Tesla Model 3 in Thailand for a while, he does not agree with the range figures shown on the Tesla website (video below). The US EPA standard is much closer to real-life range estimations for electric vehicles.

Here’s the complete list of prices for all the variants of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y and their range in Thailand (estimated USD conversion rates are as of 12th December 2022).

Vehicle / VariantRange (NEDC)Price in Thai BahtEst. Price in USD
Tesla Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive559 km฿1,759,000$50,600
Tesla Model 3 Long-Range AWD681 km฿1,999,000$57,500
Tesla Model 3 Performance608 km฿2,309,000$66,400
Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive 510 km฿1,959,000$56,300
Tesla Model Y Long-Range AWD623 km฿2,259,000$65,000
Tesla Model Y Performance582 km฿2,509,0000$72,100
Range and prices of Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y in Thailand as of 12th Dec 2022. *USD conversation prices are rounded off to the nearest 100 or 1,000.

Even though the base Tesla Model 3 is quite expensive compared to a BYD Atto 3 ($50K vs. $31K respectively), the enthusiasm and obsession with Tesla are changing the dynamics of the local car market in Thailand. And Bjorn thinks Tesla is not just going to disrupt the EV market here but the entire automotive arena is going to be shaken by the US-based automaker’s presence in Thailand.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Bjorn Nyland thinks it’s game over for other automakers as Tesla enters the Thailand automotive market with its Model 3 and Model Y EVs.
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By Iqtidar Ali

Iqtidar has been writing about Tesla, Elon Musk, and EVs for more than 3 years on XAutoWorld.com, many of his articles have been republished on CleanTechnica and InsideEVs, maintains a healthy relationship with the Tesla community across the Social Media sphere. You can reach him on Twitter @IqtidarAlii

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