KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Tesla is finally launching its electric vehicles in Malaysia, four months after the company’s intention to enter our market was revealed by the Minister of International Trade and Industry, Tengku Zafrul. Scheduled to take place on July 20, Malaysia will become the company’s third official market in South East Asia following Singapore in 2021 and Thailand late last year.

Tesla has been seen by many as the champion of the electric vehicle industry which explains the huge fanfare that has been generated by the news of its imminent arrival in Malaysia. In fact, the excitement goes beyond the EVs as throngs of eager job seekers made their way to Cyberjaya during the company walk-in recruitment day last month.

While today’s revelation did not mention anything about the EVs that Tesla will launch in Malaysia, the company’s operation in Singapore and Thailand so far clearly revolves around Model 3 and Model Y. Furthermore, 96 per cent of the 479,700 vehicles that Tesla produces last quarter were these models.

Let’s also not forget that Tesla no longer produces the right-hand drive variant of Model S and Model X. So, let’s take a brief look at what Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have to offer to Malaysian consumers.

Tesla Model 3 performance, battery, range, charging

First revealed in 2016 before making its way into the market the following year, the Model 3 is generally the first EV that Tesla aimed at the mass market. Of course, the company’s "mass market” definition may seem skewed given the EV’s price tag which is something that we going to discuss later in this story.

Available in several variants, the Standard Range (SR) features a rear-wheel drive setup with 208kW (283hp) of power alongside a maximum torque of 420Nm. With a maximum speed of 225km/h, the Model 3 can sprint from 0 to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds.

By default, the Model 3 is equipped with a 57.5kWh battery that allows the EV to deliver 491km of maximum range according to the WLTP standard. On the other hand, the Model 3 can be obtained in the form of Long Range (LR) and Performance variants that feature a larger 82kWh battery pack and dual motor all-wheel drive (AWD) setup.

However, there are some differences in terms of power output and range between these two Model 3 options.

The LR AWD option with a rated range of 614km (WLTP) can deliver 258kW (351hp) of output and 510Nm of torque. It has a 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 233km/h.

Meanwhile, the Performance AWD option delivers the most punch with an output of 340kW (462hp) and 638Nm of torque. It can do 0 to 100km/h in just 3.3 seconds and has a top speed of 261km/h. However, the higher performance does translate to a lower range with a rated 567km (WLTP) on a single charge.

In terms of charging, the SR RWD variant can support DC chargers with a power rating of up to 170kW while the LR AWD and Performance AWD options can go all the way up to 250kW. Regardless of the variant, all Model 3 have an onboard 11kW AC charger.

All of the official Model 3 units released in Singapore and Thailand come with a CCS2 port. So, we expect this will be the same for Malaysia as well.

Tesla Model Y performance, battery, range, charging

In many ways, the Tesla Model Y can be seen as the compact crossover SUV version of the Model 3. After all, it shares around 75 per cent of its parts with the Model 3.

Similar to Model 3, Model Y is also quite a hit among consumers throughout the world. In fact, it has been crowned the world’s best-selling car for Q2 this year, beating the likes of chart-topping releases from Toyota such as the Corolla, Hilux, and Camry.

Powered by a 57.5kWh battery pack, the SR RWD variant for Model Y comes with a WLTP range rating of 455km. Its single electric motor is able to deliver a maximum output of 255kW (347hp) and 420Nm torque that allows the EV to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 6.9 seconds while having a top speed of 217km/h.

The same top speed also applies to the Model Y’s Long Range AWD option. That being said, it does have a larger 75kWh battery which provides this variant with the ability to travel at greater distances given its WLTP range of 533km.

This variant can also perform a quicker century sprint at 5.0 seconds which does not come as a surprise since it is equipped with a more powerful dual motor setup that outputs at 378kW (514hp) alongside 493Nm of torque. Of course, it is still not able to beat Model Y’s Performance AWD option which can deliver 393kW (534hp) output and 660Nm of torque.

The Performance AWD variant also has a maximum speed of 250km/h and can sprint from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds. The extra firepower does mean that this variant has to sacrifice some range although it still manages to command some respectable WLTP figure at 514km.

When it comes to charging capabilities, Model Y is still similar to Model 3 which means its on-board AC charger maxed out at 11kW across all variants. Through its CCS2 charging port, the base variant can support DC charging with a power output of 170kW while the LR AWD and Performance AWD can go up to 250kW.

Tesla Model 3 prices in Singapore and Thailand

Even though Tesla Singapore’s website listed the retail price of Model 3 SR RWD as S$75,990 (~RM262,638), the actual estimated price is way higher.

The retail starting price of Model 3 in Singapore inclusive of GST is actually S$76,340 (~RM263,855). Then you need to add the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) cost to the price tag which is S$70,928 (~RM245,127) according to the website.

So, you are looking at a whopping S$147,268 (~RM508,949) price tag for the base variant of Model 3. However, the Singaporean government does have some rebates for EVs including the Enhanced Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) and EV Early Adoption Incentive which provide a total of S$45,000 (~RM155,577) discount for Model 3.

These rebates helped trim down the price tag to S$102,268 (~RM353,834) which is still quite hefty. Since this calculation does not include other related fees such as the Certificate of Entitlement (CoE), registration fee, and road tax, the final price that one has to pay for the base variant of Model 3 would be much higher.

Tesla has skipped the LR model for the Singapore market and currently only offers the Performance option as far as Model 3 AWD models are concerned. Considering the two rebates we mentioned above, the price for Model 3 Performance AWD is S$149,054 (~RM515,624) not inclusive of CoE, registration fee, and road tax.

For Thailand, the Model 3 pricing is more straightforward...well, that is at least how it looks on Tesla Thailand’s website. The base variant of Model 3 is listed at 1,759,000 baht (~RM234,554) while the LR AWD and Performance AWD variants can be obtained for 1,999,000 baht (~RM266,557) and 2,309,000 baht (~RM307,894) respectively.

Unlike Tesla Singapore, Tesla Thailand’s website did not mention any specifics when it comes to EV incentives from the government. However, it has been widely known that the Thailand government does have a comprehensive EV Tax Incentive Package that has already been in place since last year which may explain why the Model 3 is significantly cheaper in Thailand than Singapore.

Tesla Model Y prices in Singapore and Thailand

The Model Y has also received similar rebates of S$45,000 (~RM155,577) from the Singaporean government through the incentives provided to green vehicles. With that in mind, here is what the estimated price tag for Model Y looks like over there:

• Model Y Standard Range RWD: S$130,064 (~RM449,548)
• Model Y Performance AWD: S$178,897 (~RM618,307)

Do note that the estimated prices are not inclusive of CoE, registration fee, and road tax. As for Thailand, this is what was listed on Tesla Thailand’s website:

• Model Y Standard Range RWD: 1,959,000 baht (~RM261,145)
• Model Y Long Range AWD: 2,259,000 baht (~RM301,136)
• Model Y Performance AWD: 2,509,000 baht (~RM334,461)

How much Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are going to cost in Malaysia then?

If we have to estimate the Malaysian pricing for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, we would base it on the Thailand pricing structure. This is considering the current incentives that the Malaysian government has for electric vehicles which include full exemption on import and excise duty for fully imported CBU EVs.

Looking at the Thai pricing, we are guessing that the Malaysian pricing could be something like this:

• Model 3 Standard Range RWD: RM250,000 to RM270,000
• Model 3 Long Range AWD: RM280,000 to RM300,000
• Model 3 Performance AWD: RM320,000 to RM350,000
• Model Y Standard Range RWD: RM280,000 to RM300,000
• Model Y Long Range AWD: RM320,000 to RM340,000
• Model Y Performance AWD: RM360,000 to RM380,000

Based on the estimated price range, Tesla will be jumping directly into a very competitive EV market here in Malaysia. Here are the existing EVs that Model 3 and Model Y will be competing for attention if our estimation is correct:

• BMW iX1 xDrive30 M Sport: RM272,370
• BMW iX3 M Sport Inspiring / Impressive: RM307,160 / RM328,160
• Hyundai Ioniq 5 Max: RM270,408
• Mercedes-Benz EQA 250: RM296,888
• Mercedes-Benz EQB 4MATIC: RM333,888
• Kia EV6 GT-Line: RM300,668
• Volvo C40 Recharge: RM288,888
• Volvo XC40 Recharge: RM278,888

If you are willing to look slightly further towards the RM400,000 mark, then there are also the Audi Q8 e-tron, Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron, BMW iX, BMW i4, and Mercedes-Benz EQC. Perhaps, of course, this is just our prediction for now and all shall be revealed during the official Tesla Malaysia launch happening on July 20. — SoyaCincau