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1/5 Luxury Cars Sold in USA in 2018 = Tesla Model 3 or Tesla Model S

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Published on January 3rd, 2019 |

by Zachary Shahan

1/5 Luxury Cars Sold in USA in 2018 = Tesla Model 3 or Tesla Model S

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January 3rd, 2019 by Zachary Shahan

As I just reported, the Tesla Model 3 was the #11 best selling car in the USA in 2018. As reported earlier today, in December, the Tesla Model 3 was the #1 top selling car in the USA that was produced by an American car company.

But that’s just the beginning of notable Tesla sales results.

In the month of December, Tesla sold more luxury cars than all other automakers. In fact, it accounted for approximately 30% of luxury car sales. Tesla sold more luxury sedans than BMW and Audi combined, more than Mercedes-Benz and Lexus combined. It absolutely crushed the luxury car competition.

Luxury Car Brand
December 2018 US Sales
Segment Share

Acura Cars
3,988
4%

Audi Cars
9,047
10%

BMW Cars
17,428
18%

Buick (est.)
2,388
3%

Cadillac (est.)
2,268
2%

Infiniti Cars
4,681
5%

Jaguar Cars (est.)
1,000
1%

Lexus Cars
9,551
10%

Lincoln Cars
3,044
3%

Mercedes-Benz Cars
15,482
16%

Volvo
966
1%

Tesla Cars (est.)
28,670
30%

TOTAL
94,526
100%

In terms of all luxury vehicles — SUVs and crossovers included — Tesla was #4 in December, just a bit behind Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and BMW … despite not having a crossover/CUV on the market.

Luxury Auto Brand
December 2018 US Sales
Market Share

Acura
16,774
7%

Audi
22,765
9%

BMW
34,357
14%

Buick (est.)
20,503
8%

Cadillac (est.)
16,585
7%

Infiniti
18,065
7%

Jaguar Land Rover
14,079
6%

Lexus
35,524
14%

Lincoln
11,526
5%

Mercedes-Benz
36,254
14%

Volvo
8,826
4%

Tesla (est.)
31,970
13%

TOTAL
250,454
100%

If you look at the full year, naturally, Tesla didn’t perform as well — it spent most of the year ramping up production. Nonetheless, approximately 1 out of 5 luxury car sales were Teslas (the Model 3 or the Model S).

Luxury Car Brand
2018 US Sales
Segment Share

Acura Cars
43,842
5%

Audi Cars
97,071
11%

BMW Cars
193,465
22%

Buick Cars
33,781
4%

Cadillac Cars
31,746
4%

Infiniti Cars
48,259
5%

Jaguar Cars (est.)
11,000
1%

Lexus Cars
92,660
11%

Lincoln Cars
28,610
3%

Mercedes-Benz Cars
150,147
17%

Volvo Cars
21,456
2%

Tesla Cars (est.)
169,390
19%

TOTAL
877,585
100%

Across all types of luxury vehicles — SUVs and crossovers included — approximately 1 out of 10 sales were Tesla sales (Model 3, Model S, or Model X).

Luxury Auto Brand
2018 US Sales
Market Share

Acura
158,934
7%

Audi
223,323
10%

BMW
311,014
14%

Buick
206,863
9%

Cadillac
154,702
7%

Infiniti
149,280
7%

Jaguar Land Rover
122,626
6%

Lexus
298,310
14%

Lincoln
103,587
5%

Mercedes-Benz
315,959
14%

Volvo
98,263
5%

Tesla (est.)
197,680
9%

TOTAL
2,181,607
100%

This company is 15 years old. The Model S hit the market 6½ years ago.

Can you spell disruption? More importantly, can luxury automaker execs and shareholders spell disruption, and can they see it coming?

The good news is that these competing automakers are getting more serious about electrification — a bit more serious. The bad news (for them as well as humanity) is that they’re still moving too slowly and are years behind Tesla in critical ways.

The other good news is that Tesla is moving down market and is broadening its vehicle offerings into the crossover and pickup categories in order to pull in more buyers. The other bad news is that conventional automakers don’t seem well prepared to compete with their own highly compelling and widely available electric options in those classes. I don’t say this often, but the next few years are going to be interesting. Tesla getting up to 250,000–400,000 sales a year is an explosion, but it’s not putting any competitors into bankruptcy. Reaching 1–2 million thanks to the introduction of an electric crossover (Model Y) and electric pickup could be another story.

If you would like to buy a Tesla and want the benefits that come with a referral, feel free to use my referral code — http://ts.la/tomasz7234 — or not.

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About the Author

Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species). He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He's also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession and Solar Love. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada.

Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in. But he offers no professional investment advice and would rather not be responsible for you losing money, so don't jump to conclusions.

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