Tesla encourages Chinese buyers to go for Model Y inventory cars as wait times stretch to 13 weeks

• Chinese buyers opting for Model Y inventory cars can secure delivery within this year, thereby qualifying for more favorable tax policies.
• Delivery wait times for customized Model Y vehicles reach up to 13 weeks.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is encouraging Chinese customers to purchase brand-new, already-produced Model Y SUVs (sport utility vehicles) from its inventory if they wish to receive delivery before year-end and benefit from this year's more favorable tax policies.

"If you wish to ensure delivery before the end of 2025, please select a vehicle from our current inventory," Tesla China's Model Y webpage writes in Chinese.

On Tesla China's inventory page, many new Model Y options are listed for different cities, with some vehicles marked as ready for immediate delivery while others are either preparing for production or shipping.

The Model Y offers three five-seat variants in China: rear-wheel drive, long-range rear-wheel drive, and long-range all-wheel drive, priced starting at RMB 263,500 ($37,030), RMB 288,500, and RMB 313,500 respectively.

For customers ordering customized vehicles, the latest delivery wait times for these three variants are 4-8 weeks, 4-13 weeks, and 4-13 weeks respectively.

The SUV also offers a six-seat Model Y L starting at RMB 339,000, with a current delivery wait time of 4-8 weeks.

This implies that Chinese customers ordering a customized Model Y now will likely receive delivery in January 2026, missing out on this year's more favorable purchase tax exemption.

During 2024-2025, China continues its purchase tax exemption for new energy vehicles (NEVs), with a maximum tax reduction of RMB 30,000 per vehicle.

From 2026 to 2027, China's NEV purchase tax will be levied at half the standard rate of 10 percent -- effectively a 5 percent tax rate -- with a maximum tax reduction of RMB 15,000 per vehicle.

Dozens of domestic automakers have already announced that customers purchasing vehicles this month or before year-end will receive up to RMB 15,000 compensation for tax losses if delivery is delayed until 2026.

The inventory page on Tesla China's website also features several new Model 3 options available for immediate delivery or shipping, despite the company not promoting inventory purchases on the sedan's configuration page.

The US EV maker's October retail sales in China came in at 26,006 units, the lowest since November 2022, as momentum for the new six-seat Model Y L faded and more vehicles were allocated for export from Shanghai plant.

($1 = RMB 7.1155)