Tesla Model 3 = #1 Luxury Car In USA

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In the first quarter of 2019, the Tesla Model 3 was again the #1 top selling car in the US luxury car market. It was far and away the winner. It was actually #13 in the overall US car market, and no other premium-class car even made the top 20.

The Tesla Model 3 accounted for 16% of sales in the small + midsize luxury car markets. That’s 16% of both markets combined.

As Tesla indicated in its quarterly production and delivery report, the Model 3 had approximately 60% more deliveries than the #2 car in the market, which would be the Mercedes C-Class.

If you combine all of the models by brand for these segments, Tesla (which only has the Model 3) drops to #3. Again, it accounted for 16% the small + midsize luxury car market, whereas the Mercedes C-Class + CLA-Class + CLS-Class + E-Class accounted for 20% of the market and the BMW 2 Series + 3 Series + 4 Series + 5 Series accounted for 18% of the market.

I guess it depends on one’s expectations whether all of this is a win for Tesla or not, but there’s no denying that it’s a big deal for a single model to take 16% of the market (or two markets combined), especially when that model comes from a young company that just started mass producing the vehicle a few quarters ago.

Mercedes, BMW, and Audi certainly aren’t dying, but there’s a new big shot in town. Additionally, Mercedes, BWM, and Audi sales are all down in the USA compared to last year, indicating that they are bleeding a bit.

To see how sales of all of these models have changed over time in the past 15 months, check out the next two charts — just be sure to click the little balls at the top of the charts to move from one quarter to the next.

There are more ways to play with the numbers in order to put Tesla’s first quarter performance into perspective, but I think that’s enough for this piece.

Aside from this article focused on the Tesla Model 3 versus its small and midsized luxury class competitors, I’ve also published articles about the Model 3’s place among the top selling cars in the USA and Tesla’s overall position in the luxury car market and luxury vehicle market in the USA.

Model	Q1 2019	January	February	March
Tesla Model 3 (est.)	24,003	5,000	5,500	13,503
Acura RLX	381	119	127	135
Acura TLX	7,029	1,669	2,219	3,141
Alfa Romeo Giulia	2,035	531	646	858
Audi A3	2,669	664	823	1,182
Audi A4	5,779	1,691	1,436	2,652
Audi A5	5,478	1,651	1,603	2,224
Audi A6	5,358	1,889	1,506	1,963
BMW 2 Series	2,062	578	738	746
BMW 3 Series	8,225	1,226	2,379	4,620
BMW 4 Series	7,402	2,842	2,685	1,875
BMW 5 Series	10,345	3,679	2,976	3,690
Infiniti Q50	8,264	2,249	2,230	3,785
Infiniti Q60	1,304	406	327	571
Infiniti Q70	962	235	269	458
Lexus ES	11,390	3,144	3,324	4,922
Lexus GS	955	298	263	394
Lexus IS	3,884	1,075	1,115	1,694
Lexus RC	963	262	279	422
Mercedes C-Class	15,002	4,676	4,812	5,514
Mercedes CLA-Class	5,210	2,278	1,566	1,366
Mercedes E/CLS-Class	10,394	3,258	3,424	3,712
Volvo 60 Series	3,959	1,400	1,058	1,501
Volvo 90 Series	1,227	514	367	346

US Small & Midsize Luxury Car Sales	Q1 2019 Sales	Segment Share
Tesla Model 3 (est.)	24,003	16%
Mercedes C/CLA/CLS/E-Class	30,606	20%
BMW 2+3+4+5 Series	28,034	18%
Lexus ES + IS + GS + RC	17,192	11%
Audi A3+A4+A5+A6	19,284	13%
Infiniti Q50 + Q60 + Q70	10,530	7%
Acura TLX + RLX	7,410	5%
Buick Cascada + Regal + Lacrosse	7,056	5%
Lincoln MKZ	4,287	3%
Cadillac CTS	2,428	2%
Volvo 60 + 90	3,339	2%
TOTAL	154,169	100%

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