Tesla Dominating U.S. Luxury Vehicle Market — Top Seller
Tesla remains the leader in the luxury sector of the U.S. auto market, outpacing typical leaders BMW and Mercedes-Benz by a wide margin. Although Tesla doesn’t reveal its specific sales numbers, current estimates hold that the automaker outsold its next competitor in luxury vehicles by over 100,000 units — also a major win for the U.S. auto market.
The Automotive News Research and Data Center estimates that Tesla delivered 114,000 vehicles in Q3 (CleanTechnica estimates that the total was 131,000), representing a 47 percent increase year over year. Tesla leads the second best seller, German automaker BMW, by about 112,050 vehicles based on that estimate (or 129,050 by CleanTechnica‘s estimate), all while premium luxury car sales have increased throughout the year.
Total premium-brand sales amounted to 539,807 units in the third quarter, for a 7.1 percent increase. Comparatively, the overall auto industry remained level in the quarter, showcasing the luxury sector’s growth over the year.
Luxury automakers are also seeing supply improvements, according to analyses from Cox Automotive. As of September 26, the data shows the average luxury dealer supply had increased to 47 days, up from last month’s average of 44 days.
Throughout the year, BMW and fellow German automaker Mercedes-Benz have been trading hands as the second best sellers in the luxury sector, behind Tesla. Mercedes had trailed BMW for over a year, then rallied in the second quarter to take the second-place spot. In Q3, however, BMW took back the lead.