Automotive
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| #1 in 2016? |
Tesla Home Run(s) Edition
In March, deliveries of the Palo Alto company went through the roof, with the Model S beating the all-time record for a single model in the US market, with over 3.500 units logged last month, but also the Model X finally pumping out decent numbers, delivering close to 2.000 units, ending as the third best selling plug-in of March. Add that to the successful presentation of the Model 3, and you have a streak of home runs for the all-electric manufacturer last month...
For more on Tesla, don't miss the Tesla Model S vs ICE competition ranking at the bottom, yet another home run is being presented there...
But there were also other great performers last month, with the Chevrolet Volt delivering 1.865 units, tripling sales YoY and giving signs that it could be the only model to give Tesla a run for the money, good performance also for the Ford Fusion Energi, registering a rather surprising 1.238 units, while two rookies are impressing: The Audi A3 e-Tron (332 units) and Hyundai Sonata Plug-In (275) continue to improve their previous performances, and might end on some 600 units/month as cruising speed.
All this contributed for record(?) March, with total sales above 13.000 units, with numbers up 34% YoY, it looks that the US EV market is picking up speed, with the EV share now above last year result (0.67% vs 0.66%).
Looking at the YTD models ranking, a word of notice goes for the Tesla Model X, up to #5 and looking like it could reach the last place of the podium soon.
In the manufacturers ranking, Tesla (31%, up 9%) continues to increase share, while Chevrolet (17%, down 1%) has managed to keep Ford (16%, down 2%) at bay.
Final mention to the Toyota Mirai career, 41 units were delivered last month, increasing the tally to 97 units this year.
| Pl | USA | March | YTD | % |
| 1 | Tesla Model S e) | 3.740 | 6.005 | 22 |
| 2 | Chevrolet Volt | 1.865 | 3.987 | 15 |
| 3 | Nissan Leaf | 1.246 | 2.931 | 11 |
| 4 | Ford Fusion Energi | 1.238 | 2.751 | 10 |
| 5 | Tesla Model X e) | 1.860 | 2.400 | 9 |
| 6 | Ford C-Max Energi | 610 | 1.450 | 5 |
| 7 | Audi A3 e-Tron | 332 | 907 | 3 |
| 8 | Fiat 500e | 355 | 840 | 3 |
| 9 | BMW X5 40e PHEV | 313 | 839 | 3 |
| 10 | BMW i3 | 332 | 762 | 3 |
| 11 | Hyundai Sonata Plug-In | 275 | 650 | 2 |
| 12 13 14 15 | Volkswagen e-Golf Chevrolet Spark EV Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV Porsche Cayenne Plug-In | 86 252 178 244 | 612 602 580 562 | 2 2 2 2 |
| 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | Cadillac ELR Ford Focus Electric Kia Soul EV BMW i8 Smart Fortwo ED Mercedes B250e Por. Panamera Plug-In Mercedes S550e Toyota Prius Plug-In Mitsubishi I-Miev | 104 110 79 89 70 66 23 7 1 | 262 257 220 175 172 161 83 38 23 8 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 |
| TOTAL | 13.475 | 27.282 | 100 |
e) Estimate
Source: insideevs.com; Good Car Bad Car
Tesla vs The Others
As Elon Musk pointed out, the real competition of Tesla aren't other EV's, but the ICE best selling models, so let's look how the Model S stands in its own domestic market (1):
| Pl | Model | Mar. 2016 |
| 1 | Tesla Model S e) | 3.740 |
| 2 | Mercedes E-Class | 3.695 |
| 3 | BMW 5-Series | 3.157 |
| 4 | Lexus GS | 1.524 |
| 5 6 | Cadillac CTS Audi A6 | 1.499 1.453 |
The Model S managed to win its class Best Seller trophy for the first time, beating both the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-Series while the rest of the competition was eonsbehind these three.
Now that the Model X is being produced in significant volumes, it will be interesting to see how it will compare against the BMW X5's and Audi Q7's in the near future...
(1) - Unlike markets across the pond, the full-size car market in the US is much more diversified, with Chevy Impalas, Malibu's, Chrysler 300, Dodge Chargers, etc, all theoretical adversaries to the Model S, but Tesla's direct competition isn't there, so the Model S is only compared with cars with similar price and concept.
