New Model Y Juniper facelift comes with seat layout option hinting at six and seven seat configurations
Last August, a source with good track record when it comes to Tesla's China plans tipped that the Model Y Juniper facelift will launch there in March.
Fast-forward to today, when Tesla announced the refresh that it simply calls New Model Y, and that claim turned out to be very precise, as Tesla says "deliveries are expected to begin in March, pending regulatory approval."
At the time, the sources also tipped that a seven-seat Model Y Juniper configuration will be in tow, which is not all that surprising, but also that China may get an exclusive six-seat Model Y refresh version.
At the Model Y Juniper ordering webpage, the refresh is indeed listed with "seat layout" option underneath the choice of 19-inch standard or 20-inch Helix wheels for the first time. Currently, the only Juniper version is a 5-seater, but the new seat layout category indicates that there will be more configs coming down the pipe.
Tesla is expected to launch the 7-seat Juniper in the last quarter of 2025, together with a new 6-seat layout that is very popular with vehicle owners in China. There are a number of family vehicles that offer six full-size seats there, instead of the usual 2-3-2 configuration with a cramped third row of tiny seats, like on the current 7-seat Model Y.
That is what Tesla could've meant by providing the option to choose a seat layout, or otherwise it would've simply added a 7-seat config as a second option, and that's that. It remains to be seen if an eventual 6-seat Tesla Model Y Juniper refresh will make it out of China, though, as that configuration is not as popular elsewhere.
The new Model Y Juniper facelift comes with greatly upgraded seats, providing ventilation at the front and power recline for the rear seats, with electrically folding bench that opens a huge cargo space. The new Juniper seats are also shaped different, with edgier headrest padding with contrast stitching.
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