We’ve covered the superiority of the Tesla Model 3 compared to other cars in its class in a number of different ways. Add to the list the fact that Tesla Model 3 buyers are holding onto their cars much more than buyers of competitors in the midsize premium car market.
The Tesla Model 3 continued to hog the throne on top of the US premium-class car market at the end of 2019. For the full year, the Model 3 accounted for 23% of small and midsize luxury car sales. In other words, nearly 1 out of every 4 small or midsize luxury cars sold in 2019 was a Tesla Model 3.
For several years, we’ve considered BMW to be most at risk from Tesla’s rise. The BMW brand’s trademark “the ultimate driving machine” tagline got stolen away from the German automaker. (Even Edmunds went out and called the Tesla Model 3 the ultimate driving machine.) Want the most advanced driving tech? Coolest cat on the block?
The Tesla Model 3 continues to dominate the US premium-class car market. In fact, it has dominated this market to such an extent that it has more sales in 2019 than all of BMW’s small & midsize models combined, all of Mercedes-Benz’s small & midsized models combined, all of Audi’s small & midsized models combined, all of Lexus’s small & midsized models combined, etc.
I’ve been thoroughly digging through our archives lately and ran across a series of articles published in the middle of 2017 that seemed to be worth a refresh and rerun. These are simple comparisons I conducted between the Tesla Model 3 and other premium-class cars in its general price range and size. Let’s revisit how current BMW options compare to the Model 3, this time adding in some 5 year cost of ownership scenarios.
Some things cannot be explained by numbers. The Tesla Model 3 driving experience is phenomenally better than the driving experience of nearly every other car on the market. That is not hyperbole. Race car drivers have said it, top auto journalists have said it, and hundreds of thousands of other people have said it. You just have to experience the Model 3 to understand it.
This may have been the longest I’ve ever taken to create a monthly US sales report, and it may have also been the most difficult. We had a strong sense of how Tesla Model 3 production and deliveries were ramping up through the 3rd quarter, but due to the intense push to get Model 3s out the door and into customers’ hands by the end of the quarter, it has been hard to estimate output in subsequent weeks — much of October.
Tesla Model 3 sales growth this year has been astounding, putting to bed any sensible skepticism about Tesla’s ability to produce a high number of high-quality cars that consumers adore.
Tesla increased its deliveries by more than 100% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, its previous best quarter in history. In 6 years, its Q3 sales jumped from 321 to 83,500.
Its sales come at the expense of cars all over the map. However, the classes it is most directly competing in are the relevant luxury classes.
As Tesla Model 3 production and sales have grown, I’ve felt more and more inspired to compare the car’s scorecard against that of other models. I intended to update my “Small & Midsize Luxury Car Sales” charts and report this weekend, but then got a bit carried away. As a result, below are 7 sales charts regarding the Tesla Model 3 and some of its wide ranging “competition,” which includes not only small and midsize luxury cars but also some of the most popular, mass-market cars in the United States.
