1.5× More Tesla Model 3 Sales Than Ford Mustang Sales In 2018 In USA (So Far)
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While working on October and January–October Tesla sales reports, I noticed a few interesting comparisons that seemed worth highlighting separately.
First of all, if you think of iconic sporty cars, and especially iconic American muscle cars, the Ford Mustang is surely one of the first cars that comes to mind — probably the first. Indeed, the Mustang has been a top selling bastion of the American car market for years.
For a short period of time, it was exciting to see Tesla Model 3 sales approach Ford Mustang sales. Tesla had arrived!
… And then the Model 3 flew past the Mustang, absolutely smoking it.
The region of Southwest Florida where I live is probably a pretty good one for the Mustang. I see quite a few of them around town. However, it does seem as though I’m already seeing more Model 3s than Mustangs, which is a little shocking when you consider that the Model 3 is brand freakin’ new. (Of course, there’s a solid chance that there’s some bias in my observations and it might just be that I don’t notice Mustangs as much as I notice Model 3s.)
As indicated in the title, it turns out there have been approximately 1½ times more Model 3 sales than Mustang sales in the United States so far in 2018.
Yes, indeed, the Model 3 has arrived.
But here’s where it gets especially crazy. Never having much interest in the Mustang, I didn’t realize it was such a cheap car. The base MSRP for Ford’s iconic Mustang is just $25,700. That’s approximately half the base price of the Model 3 during much of this year (which was $49,000 — only for black — until the Model 3 Mid Range showed up in the design studio).
Yes, there was a long list of Model 3 reservations to be served and we don’t yet know what steady-state demand levels will be for the Model 3. That said, it’s clear that one year of Model 3 sales will dwarf one year of Mustang sales this year. Also, the Model 3 Mid Range is just getting out there and the much more affordable Model 3 Standard Range won’t be on the market till next year.
Also, while hundreds of thousands of reservation holders were happy to learn about the car ahead of time and get in line for one, normal Americans don’t read CleanTechnica every day and know very little about Tesla. As they experience the Model 3 more from friends, family members, coworkers, and simply walking into a store in a mall and checking one out, they will learn why exactly the Model 3 is so popular. With previous Tesla models, annual demand has stabilized at a higher rate than initial reservations. The Model 3 is a different game, so we’ll have to wait to see if that holds true for Tesla’s mass-market model, but there’s a strong hint from Tesla and CEO Elon Musk that they are bullish that global demand will steadily be 500,000 to one million cars per year.
We’ll see.
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