2022 Tesla Model 3 price and specs: Larger battery capacity, longer range, but no cost increase for rival Hyundai Kona Electric.

When the Model 3 went on sale in 2019, the entry-class range was 409 km.

Tesla has increased the range of its 2022 Model 3 midsize sedan thanks to a larger battery pack, but prices have remained the same.

The American electric vehicle manufacturer also changed the name of the entry-level Model 3 from Standard Range Plus to Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive.

Tesla does not disclose the capacity of its battery, but according to the Vedaprime Twitter account tracking Tesla, the battery capacity has increased from about 55kWh to 62.28kWh for rear-wheel drive.

The Long Range all-wheel drive and Performance batteries have been increased from 75 kWh to 82.8 kWh, matching the capacity of the sister Y model.

This increased the range of the entry-level all-electric variant from 448 km to 491 km under the WLTP protocol.

When switching to Long Range AWD, the range increased from 580 to 614 km, while the flagship Performance version remains at 567 km.

The increase means the Model 3 now has more range in its entry class than the extended range version of the Hyundai Kona Electric (484km) and has more juice than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (450km).

This is the second range increase for the Model 3. When it arrived in Australia in 2019, the Standard Range Plus had a range of just 409 km.

The entry-class now needs a little more time to get from 0 to 100 km/h due to the larger battery. It increased from 5.6 to 6.1 seconds.

Prices have not increased as a result of updates. Rear-wheel drive still costs $59,900 before all travel expenses ($67,277 in Victoria). The Long Range is $73,400 BOC ($79,047 per day) and the Performance is $84,900 BOC ($93,148 per day).

As reported, the Model 3 is the best-selling electric car in Australia, with about 10,000 units delivered here this year.

All Model 3s destined for Australia now ship from Tesla's Shanghai, China plant. When it launched, it was built at a factory in Fremont, California.