BMW USA Sales Down Dramatically — Tesla Model 3 Hitting Already?

First of all, it’s worth remembering that Tesla Model S and Model X production (and thus sales) have ramped up a great deal compared to the beginning of 2016, and that may well have hit BMW USA sales noticeably by now. (How I’d love to see conquest sales data from Tesla!)

But the bigger portion of BMW’s sales historically come from the 2–4 Series than the 5–7 Series or X4–X6 Series. And that’s Tesla Model 3 territory.

I haven’t been watching too closely in recent months, but while pulling BMW i3 sales data for our monthly electric car sales reports, I noticed that BMW USA sales are down … dramatically. BMW passenger cars were down 17% in May (2017 vs 2016) and 11% for the year through May (2017 vs 2016). And, by the way, MINI brand sales were down 12% in May and the year through May.

Perhaps I’m missing some useful context here, but if BMW doesn’t have a solid explanation for this massive drop in sales … I have a feeling Tesla does.

Incidentally, after taking a look at how the Tesla Model 3 compares to the Audi A3, A4, A5, and S3 as well as how it compares to the Lexus ES, ES Hybrid, IS, GS, GS Hybrid, and CT Hybrid, next in line is how it compares to the BMW 3 Series, 4 Series, 5 Series, and i3. Stay tuned for that fun.