Tesla has been pressured to halt deliveries of its up to date ‘Highland’ Mannequin 3 in Australia because it resolves a compliance situation, however says it expects deliveries to renew inside weeks.
It’s understood the up to date model of the Mannequin 3 which not too long ago started being delivered to Australian prospects doesn’t have an accessible rear centre top-tether level, in breach of Australian Design Guidelines (ADRs).
“We remorse to tell you that deliveries of Mannequin 3 in Australia shall be paused from shut of enterprise 17 January 2024,” reads the notification despatched to prospects.
“This pause is said to a technical compliance matter that we’re working carefully with the related authorities to resolve.
“We perceive that these adjustments could result in a delay within the supply and need to guarantee you that resolving this matter is our high precedence. We count on to recommence deliveries inside the coming weeks.”
It’s unclear what impression there shall be to automobiles already delivered, and whether or not a recall shall be forthcoming. The primary examples reached prospects in December.
“The Division of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Growth, Communications and the Arts is conscious of considerations relating to the kid restraint anchorage factors within the 2024 Tesla Mannequin 3 and is trying into this matter,” a Division of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Growth, Communications and the Arts spokesperson instructed CarExpert this month.
“Highway security is a high precedence of the Australian Authorities. That’s the reason we’ve legislated street automobile requirements in place to make sure all street automobiles, each new and used, being supplied to the Australian marketplace for the primary time meet crucial nationwide requirements for security, safety and emissions.”
That is regardless of the up to date Mannequin 3 being licensed as a five-seater automobile in response to Australian authorities approval paperwork.
Uniquely, Australian Design Guidelines (ADRs) stipulate any rear seat with a seatbelt should function a top-tether level for a kid seat, although ADR 34 requires it to be extra accessible based mostly on the wording.
ADR 34.6.1 states that “clearance shall be supplied round every ‘Youngster Restraint Anchor Becoming’ to permit latching and unlatching, with out the usage of instruments, of the ‘Attaching Clip’ to the ‘Youngster Restraint Anchor Becoming’ when it’s put in within the automobile”.
The pre-update model of the Tesla Mannequin 3 had a top-tether anchor level for the rear center seat that could possibly be accessed by a flap on the parcel shelf.
It’s understood the up to date Mannequin 3 does nonetheless have the rear center top-tether anchor level however it might’t be accessed as there’s no flap on the parcel shelf.
It’s price noting the up to date Mannequin 3 does have accessible top-tether factors, in addition to ISOFIX factors, on the 2 outboard rear seats.
Now we have reached out to Tesla Australia in regard to this example and can replace this story if we hear again.
In 2022 the BYD Atto 3 was topic to the identical technical compliance situation as its rear center top-tether level couldn’t be accessed, with carpet on the seat again blocking it.
BYD’s native distributor EVDirect was pressured to pause deliveries for a number of weeks till the issue was resolved. It additionally recalled already delivered examples to repair the difficulty.
One other potential possibility Tesla might enact is eradicating the rear center seat belt of the up to date Mannequin 3 and reclassifying the electrical sedan as a four-seater.
Honda made the choice to categorise the current-generation HR-V as a four-seater somewhat than a five-seater in Australia because of there being no top-tether level for the rear center seat.
Whereas it didn’t explicitly say this compliance breach was the explanation, security authority ANCAP declined to hold over the pre-update Mannequin 3’s five-star score, leaving the up to date mannequin unrated for now.
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