Tesla’s competition for the Model Y is growing quickly in China

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Tesla is set to unveil the Model Y, its fifth car, in March of 2019. It’s expected to be a crossover SUV that’s smaller than the Model X, and will share lots of the Model 3’s underlying tech. With SUV sales through the roof in the United States, it’s likely to be a hit. And with a sticker price that will likely resemble the Model 3’s, the Model Y will launch in the US with very little direct competition when you consider the premium attached to the electric SUVs from Jaguar, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche.

That’s not the case in China, however, a point underscored this week by two new vehicle announcements.

On Saturday, Chinese EV startup NIO launched the ES6 — the company’s second all-electric SUV. It’s a smaller five-seater successor to NIO’s first car, the larger ES8. In broad strokes, the ES6 is simply a more affordable, more approachable version of the ES8.

ES6 will start at 358,000 RMB, or about $51,000, and that’s before government subsidies.

Nio ES6