Tesla is preparing to update the Model 3 sedan in order to make it appeal more to customers and to drive down production costs. The updated model is working under the code name “Highland” and the mid-cycle refresh will be similar to the one introduced on the Model S and X in 2021.
The update will bring visual changes to the exterior and interior of the Model 3, Reuters reports, citing four people with knowledge of the matter.
No specific design changes have been spelled out for the exterior, but using the Model S as a reference, Tesla may look to simply refine the bodywork and keep updates minor. With new “giga presses” and other cost-saving assembly methods, the reworked exterior should be easier and, therefore, cheaper for Tesla to make.
Read: Tesla Reveals Redesigned Model S And X With New Interiors And A Silly K.I.T.T.-Style Steering Wheel
Inside, Tesla will focus on further simplifying the Model 3’s already minimalist cabin in order to reduce costs again. It will, however, focus on improving what drivers use the most, like the infotainment screen.
The update will come as the EV market has become way more challenging in China, Tesla’s second-largest market, behind the USA. The carmaker was recently forced to lower prices for the Model 3 by 9 percent in order to become more competitive with rival EV manufacturers in the market.
That price cut followed flagging sales. In the first 10 months of 2022, nine percent fewer buyers chose the Model 3 in China than they had a year earlier. Manufacturers like BYD, meanwhile, outsold the Model 3 with EVs like the Qin and Han. Finding a way to lower costs is becoming increasingly crucial for Tesla.
The updated Model 3 is expected to go into production in the third quarter of 2023 at Tesla’s factory in Shanghai. It will also be produced at the automaker’s plant in Fremont, California, though a timeline for production there is less clear.
