I just spent a long time — much of the day — putting together 8 charts and graphs comparing Tesla to its luxury brand competitors in the USA. In particular, I took a gander at how the Tesla Model 3 is delivering a swift lebewohl to the small and midsize luxury cars it’s competing against.
However, perhaps more exciting than that uncomfortable wake-up call for Germany, is a glance at the list of the top selling cars — of all classes — in the US. If our estimate for the month of September is correct (or anywhere close to correct), the Model 3 passed up the Toyota Corolla to become the 4th best selling car in the United States.
Sayonara.
(Or should Tesla just say “see ya” since it’s an American company?)
| Car | USA Sales — September |
Base Price Today
|
| Toyota Camry | 27,640 | $23,495 |
| Honda Accord | 25,357 | $23,570 |
| Honda Civic | 24,806 | $18,940 |
| Tesla Model 3 (est.) | 24,040 | $49,000 |
| Toyota Corolla | 20,797 | $18,600 |
| Hyundai Elantra | 19,923 | $16,950 |
| Nissan Sentra | 16,795 | $16,990 |
| Ford Fusion | 15,878 | $22,215 |
| Nissan Altima | 11,867 | $23,260 |
| Kia Optima | 10,976 | $16,800 |
| Volkswagen Jetta | 10,631 | $18,545 |
| Kia Soul | 10,540 | $16,490 |
| Hyundai Sonata | 7,735 | $22,300 |
| Toyota Prius | 7,378 | $23,475 |
| Ford Focus | 7,195 | $17,950 |
Related: Yep, Tesla Is Gobbling USA Luxury Car Market — 8 Charts & Graphs.
In fact, Tesla’s Model 3 deliveries were so high that it could have been #2 or even #1 best selling car in the country if my estimates were off by a few thousand. Or the car may well pass up the #1 Toyota Camry, #2 Honda Accord, and #3 Honda Civic in October or November. Tesla has already said that two of the five models most traded in for a Tesla Model 3 are indeed the Accord and Civic.
Another thing we’ve highlighted before is that the Model 3 is by far the most expensive car on that list. That actually makes it the best selling car in terms of revenue — Michael Grinshpun will have to update his numbers and charts a little bit.
There’s simply no comparison on the market. There’s no other car that offers anything similar to the package of features, specs, and price that the Model 3 offers.
Related: Tesla Crushes Quarterly Delivery Record With 83,500 Deliveries In Q3
*The Tesla Model 3 sales number is an estimate. Tesla has released quarterly sales of the Model 3, but it doesn’t break those down by country or month. We know that the vast majority of Model 3s went to the USA, and I made an estimate for Canadian sales after discussing with some other Tesla sales estimates. I’ve also been relying on Troy/Teslike’s delivery estimates, which have been extremely close to the official numbers. Once Tesla’s quarterly estimates came out, I calculated a September sales estimate based on estimates from previous months.
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