(Yicai) Nov. 7 -- Tesla confirmed that it will raise the prices of the rear-wheel-drive and long-range versions of its China-made Model Y sports utility vehicle, The Paper reported, after the US electric carmaker bumped up the cost of the high-performance edition last month.

Tesla did not disclose the new pricing and when they will kick in, the report said today, citing the Texas-based company. Even after the planned price increase, Model Y's RWD and long-range versions will remain the best products in the price range in the Chinese market, it said.

Tesla hiked the price of the Model Y's high-performance version by CNY14,000 (USD1,923) on Oct. 27, just 10 weeks after the firm had dropped it by the same amount to attract more buyers.

The Model Y is Tesla's best-selling vehicle in China, accounting for 95 percent of its sales in September, with 41,428 units sold. 

Earlier this year, Tesla slashed the prices of hot-selling series such as the Model 3 and Model Y in countries and regions such as China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Europe. This was the main reason for its high first-half sales growth.

But the cuts squeezed Tesla's gross margin, narrowing it to 17.9 percent in the third quarter of this year from 18.7 percent in the first six months. Net profit was USD1.9 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30, sliding 31 percent from the second quarter and 44 percent from a year earlier.

Editor: Martin Kadiev