Tesla Model 3 Embarrassing Ford Mustang & BMW 3/4 Series — 8 Charts

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

The Tesla Model 3 is a hot topic among Tesla fanatics, portions of the climate hawk flock, regions of tech world, and various corners of the hyperactive Wall Street circus. But in the homes of Joe Schmo, Homer Simpson, Roseanne Conner, Danny Tanner, Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, the gang at Paddy’s Pub, Leslie Knope, the Griffin family, and many actual American families, the Ford Mustang and BMW 3 Series are much more familiar names and perhaps cars they drive or dream of driving one day.

The interesting thing that average people on the street almost certainly don’t realize is that Tesla Model 3 sales are now embarrassing the Ford Mustang and BMW 3 Series.

Out of pure curiosity, I decided to put together a handful of 2018 US sales charts for the Model 3 versus these two iconic models. Seeing visualizations of the comparisons is a much more interesting way to reflect on the competition and broader industry transformation. Have a look and enjoy:

In total, based on CleanTechnica estimates for Tesla and official figures from Ford and BMW, the Model 3 has 114,160 US sales through November, the Ford Mustang has 71,450, and the BMW 3/4 Series has 70,857. That means the Model 3 has more than 1.5× as many sales this year than either the iconic Mustang or the iconic 3/4 Series.

Naturally, Model 3 sales are going to spike in December and then drop in the first quarter of 2019. However, I expect 2018 will be the year when the Mustang and 3/4 Series perform best compared to the Model 3. Based on the superior performance, safety, tech, and cultural appeal of the Model 3, 2019 and onward should show the Model 3 separating itself further and further from these old-school models.

Perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps it will take longer for consumers to catch on to the Model 3’s advantages. Perhaps some people will stick with the Mustang and 3/4 Series for emotional reasons and because of the magical power of nostalgia. We’ll see. In any case, the story in 2018 is clear: Tesla’s 3rd real model and 1st truly mass-market car is clobbering  the old-school competition in the US sales charts. Stay tuned for the arrival of sister Model Y and what will surely be a wild electric pickup truck from Tesla.

If you’re looking to buy a Tesla, appreciate my work, and need a referral code, here you go: http://ts.la/tomasz7234

Related Tesla sales reports this month:

Tesla Model 3 Completely Crushing US Luxury Car Competition — 10 CleanTechnica Charts

Tesla = #1 in Luxury Cars in USA, #4 in Luxury Vehicles (Possibly) — 5 CleanTechnica Charts

Tesla Model 3 = #6 Top Selling Car In USA In November (Possibly)

Tesla Sales = 4.6% of California Vehicle Sales in Q3


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

Zachary Shahan has 7324 posts and counting. See all posts by Zachary Shahan