A refreshed version of Tesla’s flagship Model Y compact electric SUV appears to be meeting with slow demand, Reuters reported, amidst a broader sales slump for the EV maker around the world.

The model is sold with attractive financing offers and is easily available in many parts of the world, indicating demand is not tight, the report said.

Official sales data for the new Model Y is not yet available, leading analysts to observe other factors that may indicate how the car is faring since its launch in January.

New Model Y

The previous Model Y was the world’s best-selling car last year.

The new version is available immediately in many parts of the world, with some units already available in Tesla’s inventory, unlike the long wait times for the previous edition, Reuters reported.

Researcher Troy Teslike told the news agency that April registration numbers in China and Europe had been weak.

The new vehicle, which features a light bar at the front similar to the Cybertruck, is sold at roughly the same price as its predecessor.

In the US, Tesla is offering promotions such as a 1.99 percent interest rate or zero down payment as well as a $2,000 (£1,504) discount for existing Model Y owners, the Reuters report said.

In some European countries the new Model Y is being offered at 0 percent interest rate, with two years of free charging at high-speed Supercharger stations.

In China, where local competition has led to lower Tesla sales, the company is promoting a five-year 0 percent interest rate before 30 June.

By contrast, the average US interest rate on new vehicles in April was 7.1 percent, with an average of 5.5 percent for EVs sold through dealerships, according to Edmunds data cited in the report.

Workers sent home

This month Tesla introduced a new, cheaper, rear-wheel drive option for the Model Y, a further sign that the company is seeking more customers.

The figures come amidst other evidence of slow sales of the new vehicle.

Workers at Tesla’s Austin, Texas plant who build Model Y and Cybertruck vehicles were told to stay home the week of Memorial Day, according to a Business Insider report earlier this month.

The break is unusually long, and the plant was running during the period last year, the workers cited in the report said.

The hourly workers said they had been sent home early multiple times since February and that during the same period Tesla had begun cracking down on overtime hours.

Tesla sales around the world have plummeted this year with increasing competition and customer aversion to the politics of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk being potential factors.

In April the firm reported a 13 percent drop in deliveries year-on-year and said it produced 26,000 more EVs than it delivered in the first quarter.