Tesla senior account manager Clement Maguet has confirmed a very special type of Model Y for the French market. By reducing the number of seats to merely two, Tesla created a van-like Model Y exempt from the value-added tax.
The standard rate is 20 percent in the French Republic, which applies to automobiles as well. However, there is a loophole that business owners are much obliged to use in order to circumvent said value-added tax. As long as a motor vehicle with two or three seats in the front and zero in the back is used in a professional context, the business owner isn't required to pay any VAT at all.
All so-called utility vehicles are exempt from value-added tax, but there is a catch. Removing the rear seats from a Model Y that left the factory with five doesn't make it a utility vehicle. The automaker has to modify the seating layout. The Renault Zoe Van, Ford Fiesta Van, and Dacia Duster Commercial come to mind as good examples of five-seat vehicles converted at the factory for commercial use.
Currently exclusive to the French market via Tesla's fleet unit, the two-seater Model Y is advertised with a cargo capacity of 2,158 liters (76.2 cubic feet). How many more liters are we dealing with compared to the five-seat Model Y for Europe? A meager 117 liters (4.1 cubic feet) is the answer, which isn't surprising.
When all is said and done, Tesla developed the two-seat Model Y for the sole purpose of cracking into the commercial vehicle market. Maguet points out that most of the 6.3 million commercial vehicles registered in France are powered by diesel engines. Considering that the diesel-engined panel van dominates the segment in this part of the world, that shouldn't come as a surprise either.
Photo: Clement Maguet / Tesla / edited
The senior account manager further confirmed a driving range of up to 565 kilometers on the WLTP, translating to 351 miles on a full charge. When equipped with the standard 19-inch wheels, the Model Y Grande Autonomie is good for up to 533 kilometers (331 miles) in the WLTP.
As opposed to internal combustion vehicles, which are far less sensitive to weight in relation to fuel consumption, every kilo matters in an electric vehicle. The rear seats of an electric vehicle are an easy target for significant weight reduction. Dodge takes it even further with the 1,025-horsepower Demon 170, which sports one seat by default in order to keep the curb weight in check.
Speaking of the Charger, the 2024 model is a tremendously heavy car. 5,838 pounds (2,648 kilograms) for the Daytona R/T is an insane estimate compared to the 4,594 pounds (2,084 kilograms) of the previous-gen Charger in Redeye Jailbreak flavor. The newcomer is pompously dubbed an electric muscle car, yet the Daytona Scat Pack is two-tenths of a second quicker to 60 miles per hour than the Model Y Performance.
Oh, dear! Then again, the quickest Charger of them all has yet to be revealed. The 800-volt SRT Banshee is due in 2025, the year when Model Y Ludicrous is expected to enter production. But first, Model 3 Ludicrous will replace the Model 3 Performance in May 2024.
Breaking news:@tesla France created a model Y two seater!!
This model was created so it can be used for business purposes.
It has a capacity of 2158 liters.
This model is also eligible for tax discount in France.
What a great solution from Tesla to use their existing vehicle… pic.twitter.com/0IAWdk7R3h
— Esther Kokkelmans (@EstherKokkelman) March 6, 2024
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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