On August 11th, CleanTechnica, an overseas media outlet, released sales data for small and medium-sized luxury vehicles in the US. The focus of the report was on the Model 3, with some key pieces of information to note.
In the first half of 2020, the Model 3 sold 38,314 units, ranking first among all small and medium-sized luxury vehicles, accounting for 17% of the market. The BMW 3 series ranked second, and the Lexus ES ranked third.
From the sales figures, the Model 3 sold about 3,000 units more than the combined sales of the 3 series and ES. To put it in perspective, this is approximately equal to the sales of the CT6 in six months.
A surprising point is that even on the luxury brand’s small and medium-sized vehicle sales list in the first half of 2020, the Model 3 still ranked first, surpassing the combined sales of the BMW 2 series, 3 series, 4 series, and 5 series. Mercedes-Benz and Audi ranked third and fourth, respectively. This reminds me of the famous adage, “one is better than six.”
Let’s take a closer look at the sales figures for the second quarter of 2020 for small and medium-sized luxury vehicles in the US. Despite the impact of the pandemic, the Model 3 sold 10,614 units, ranking first. It sold 2,852 units more than the second place ES and 2,901 more than the third-place 3 series, equivalent to the sales of the Mercedes-Benz CLA in Q2.Under the epidemic situation, in the Q2 2020 rankings of luxury compact and midsize cars, Model 3 no longer has an advantage and falls out of the top three. This is where traditional automakers’ “having more children to fight” advantage comes into play.
Looking at the entire U.S. market, in the first half of 2020, Model 3 ranked 12th in single model sales with 38,314 units. In Q2, it fell to 16th place, which is a slight decline from its long-term top 10 ranking.
One reason for this is the epidemic, and the other reason is Model Y deliveries. Currently, Model Y’s production capacity is mainly accumulated in the Fremont factory. If Model Y produces one more vehicle, Model 3 will produce one less.
A few days ago, foreign media also revealed that a tent assembly line has been added near the Fremont factory. It can be seen that the issue of production capacity still largely hinders Tesla’s expansion. The construction speed of the Berlin factory has also been accelerating recently.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.