When I got started on this analysis, I thought, “Well, looks like we finally have a car that is going to come out with a lower 5 year cost than a Tesla Model 3.” Nonetheless, I was super curious to see the results and see how close the Model 3 came to different Civic trims. I did not expect that the Model 3 would beat the Civic on cost in several scenarios. Does it? Does it, really?
Since I published comparisons of the Tesla Model 3 and Honda Accord, I’ve been planning to conduct and publish 5 year cost of ownership comparisons between the Tesla Model 3 and BMW 330i. At last, here they are!
Price policy for a product is a cross between fairness and what the market can bear. If you are too nice to your customers, your shareholders will not be happy. If you squeeze every last penny out of your customers, they will start to resent doing business with you. Beside these matters, there is the issue of competitive pricing. What is the price of competing products? Established products can charge a premium, new products often have to show a price incentive.
Recently, we found out the German Tesla website introduced business leasing for the Model 3. Here is an example from the Tesla site. Congrats for those of you wanting a business lease in Germany!
John Rougeux recently ordered and took delivery of a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range with 570 miles on the odometer. He was charged $35,400 (there was a $400 price increase recently), but he got $1,250 off since the car had 570 miles.
For this piece, I will use the information on Tesla’s website to determine if paying cash, taking a loan, or leasing is the best option if you want a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus (SR+). The twist here is I did these calculations for Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, China, and the UK. These were some of the most popular markets for Tesla in Q1 2019. I added in the UK, since it has been suffering for 3 years and deserves some attention.
I recently published some cost comparisons between the Tesla Model 3 and various Honda Accord trims. As I implied at the time, these models shouldn’t even be in the same discussion since the Model 3 is a much better vehicle (safer, quicker, more advanced tech, better handling), but the fact is that they do compare when it comes to 5 year cost of ownership. However, when I published the previous comparisons, I didn’t include the cost of interest if you took out an auto loan to finance the purchase.
I’ve got another report here comparing the Tesla Model 3 to a top selling car in the USA.The Model 3 was the 5th best selling car in the USA in the second half of 2018, the 11th best in all of 2018, and the 13th best in the first quarter of 2019. The Toyota Camry was the top selling car in the USA in 2018 and has long been at or near the top of the list.
Tesla has created a new base Model 3 for the Canadian market. The standard range car is priced at $44,999, just low enough to take advantage of the new iZEV rebate that went into effect on May 1.
Patience is a virtue. After a long wait, UK customers can now place their orders for the Tesla Model 3 — for June delivery. Prices for the Standard Range Plus, which includes Autopilot, starts at £38,900 (on-the-road price, after incentives). Get your order in quickly if you want early delivery.
