Confirmed: NZ to get made-in-China Tesla Model 3s

It’s been rumoured for a while, but now it’s been confirmed — sort of — that Australia and New Zealand will be getting Tesla Model 3s built by the EV manufacturer’s new Gigafactory in Shanghai instead of from the current Fremont, California factory.

The electric car firm’s website has been given an update for the Oceanic region. The most telling of these are a minor tweak to the interiors of the cars depicted on the site, seeing the material inlay trim (woodgrain or white, depending on upholstery colour) connect from the dashboard to the front door inserts. This is reportedly a Shanghai Model 3 exclusive production trait.

According to Australian publication CarAdvice, the market will only be getting Chinese built versions of the Standard Range and Long Range models.

The flagship Performance will continue to be imported from the US. The publication added that the Model 3’s local road vehicle certification also showed that the models will come with a new Chinese-specific VIN.

Other updates to the cars include new wheel options, including the 19-inch Sport wheels being a $2500 option on Standard Range models. Buyers can also now get a white leather interior in the foundation model — a spec formerly reserved for the Performance.

The range of each model has also been extended to align with Tesla’s updates overseas. The Standard Range Model 3 now claims to be capable of 508km of travel per charge, while the Long Range and Performance are rated at 657km and 628km, respectively.