Comparing Tesla vehicle sales to pickup truck and compact budget car sales is too much of an apples-to-oranges comparison. But comparing Tesla sales to the sales of the world’s top luxury auto brands is getting interesting.
Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has announced it will increase its investment in a German battery factory to 1.8 billion euros. It says battery demand in Europe will reach 100 MWh by 2030.
BMW and JLR will collaborate on the development of electric car technology, another step in the convergence within the auto industry spurred by the EV revolution.
Tesla is not the only car company with financial struggles. Ford and Jaguar Land Rover are also slashing employment in an effort to trim costs.
It’s time for another monthly checkup on US auto sales. Surprisingly, more than a million people are still buying the 21st century equivalent of horses every month. I think the most interesting takeaway, though, is quickly running through the companies and car divisions that saw their sales drop last month (compared to the same month in 2018) and then the companies and car divisions that saw their sales rise.
Now that we’ve got a truly mass market electric car in the US (the 13th best selling car in the country in the first quarter of 2019 and the best selling luxury car), I’ve found it interesting to take a closer look at changes in all automakers’ overall car and automobile sales. I meticulously track changes from month to month and quarter to quarter using automaker sales reports for this purpose.
Tesla had the #1 top selling luxury car in the USA in the first quarter of 2019, but it didn’t win the title of top selling luxury car producer in the first quarter and also didn’t top the list of luxury automakers (cars + SUVs/CUVs/trucks). However, the Silicon Valley company did stay on the podium despite a 50% cut in the federal EV tax credit for Tesla buyers and despite the fact that most Tesla vehicles were shipped abroad (with the Model 3 making it overseas for the first time).
In the month of February, these luxury auto companies and car divisions had the following sales drops:
Acura Cars: −12%
Audi: −12%
Audi Cars: −12%
BMW Cars: −12%
Infiniti: −17%
Infiniti: −46%
Lexus Cars: −2%
Mercedes-Benz: −13%
Mercedes-Benz Cars: −4%
Volvo Cars: −77%
We have a weird situation. Not that long after GM decided to stop sharing monthly US sales figures, Ford has now followed suit and done the same. This is making monthly market sales report quite challenging. Of course, underneath the GM and Ford brands are Chevrolet, Lincoln, Buick, and Cadillac.
The electric vehicle (EV) industry was booming in 2018. It was the most booming year of a booming decade for EVs. Below is a long, long rundown of notables changes in the industry in 2018.
