Tesla set to take over US luxury car sales crown
Tesla, the trailblazing electric car maker is poised to take over the US luxury car sales crown from BMW. According to Automotive News, Tesla, which does not separate domestic sales figures from global numbers, may surpass BMW as America’s best-selling luxury car brand if data emanating from US new car registrations is anything to go by. Industry watchers have also indicated that Tesla’s sales performance is likely to receive a renewed boost as soon as it starts production at a nearly completed factory in Austin, Texas.
Tesla’s sales performance is a big challenge to BMW, Mercedes, and Toyota/Lexus, the ‘big three’ in the US luxury car sales market. Based on sales data, BMW was ranked the most popular luxury brand in the U.S. for 2021, a position it is holding for the third consecutive year having displaced Mercedes, which occupied the top spot in the three years before that. Though Lexus has never been number one, it has continued to give both BMW and Mercedes a run for their money.
According to statistics posted by statisrica.com, “in 2021, BMW was the leading luxury car brand in the United States, recording sales of over 336,600 units. It was followed closely by its main competitor Tesla, which climbed up in the ranking during 2021, recording estimated sales of over 313,400 vehicles.” Lexus had 304,475 sales with Mercedes trailing in the fourth spot at 276,012, in part due to its less effective handling of the semiconductor supply crisis.
However, unlike the ‘traditional three’ Tesla does not exclude domestic sales from the world’s numbers. The new car registration data from the United States will likely give a clearer picture of the sales.
With over 42,000 Tesla registrations in 2021, it would likely outdo BMW – if it sold as many cars or more in December. Responding to inquiries from Automotive News, Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds remarked that even if Tesla doesn’t clinch sales honors, it’s still “remarkable that they have risen to the top in a short period, considering collapse seemed entirely possible a few years ago.”
Citing data from financial firm Experian, Automotive News shows that the latest registration numbers for November 2021 suggest Tesla’s sales supremacy. As of November last year, 303,246 Tesla vehicles were registered in the United States. In the same period, Munich-based BMW shifted 336,644 units.
The automotive news publication does note, however, that there is a difference between sales figures and vehicle registrations, as a car can be sold one month and registered the next.
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