Tesla‘s huge gross sales surge in latest months made the EV maker appear to be a positive wager to overhaul BMW to grow to be the luxurious phase chief for 2021.
However in keeping with newly launched U.S. automobile registration knowledge from Experian, BMW managed to hold on to its crown for the yr. Tesla got here in at No. 2, forward of Lexus and Mercedes-Benz.
Tesla can have one other shot to dethrone legacy rivals for the highest spot this yr, as a brand new manufacturing facility in Texas boosts manufacturing of the favored Mannequin Y crossover, Tesla’s bestselling mannequin.
Experian stated in a report this week that BMW had 347,453 new automobiles registered within the U.S. in 2021, whereas Tesla had 342,412 — a distinction of simply 5,041 automobiles.
It has been a heated race.
Tesla registrations surged 71 p.c over 2020, whereas BMW’s grew 24 p.c yr over yr, in keeping with Experian. These numbers recommend that Tesla has vital momentum going into 2022, though semiconductor shortages will seemingly play an essential function within the luxurious automobile race.
The 2021 registration knowledge has been carefully watched as a result of Tesla would not get away U.S. gross sales from its world supply numbers.
Business analysts look to state-by-state registration numbers for clues about the place the EV chief sits in contrast with its rivals. Globally, Tesla gross sales rose 87 p.c final yr to 936,172 from its factories in California and China, the automaker stated.
However gross sales and registration numbers do not monitor completely for a wide range of causes. Automobiles bought in a single month could be registered in one other, and a few registration knowledge might embody estimates when actual numbers are unavailable, analysts stated. Some trade estimates put Tesla gross sales greater than BMW for 2021.
“When the numbers are shut, it is onerous to declare a winner while you aren’t all the time evaluating apples to apples,” stated Jessica Caldwell, govt director of insights at Edmunds. Registration knowledge is commonly helpful when analyzing numbers not made public by automakers, equivalent to fleet gross sales, she stated.
BMW’s personal gross sales knowledge put deliveries final yr at 336,644. Lexus stated it bought 304,475 automobiles, and Mercedes reported official deliveries of 276,102.
Finally, producer gross sales knowledge is the official report, Caldwell stated, due to the guesswork that goes into calculating Tesla’s numbers.
For instance, a 2021 gross sales estimate from Cox Automotive gave Tesla the sting over BMW with 352,471 U.S. deliveries.
“Tesla did not solely dominate the EV market, Tesla dominated the general luxurious market, outselling Audi, BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz within the U.S.,” Cox stated final month.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has estimated that the corporate’s world gross sales will rise by not less than 50 p.c this yr as factories in Berlin and Austin, Texas, come on-line within the first a part of 2022. The Texas manufacturing facility will first make the Mannequin Y and certain subsequent yr the Cybertruck.
Different particulars from this week’s Experian registration report:
- The Mannequin Y was the bestselling EV within the U.S. final yr, with 169,325 registrations.
- The Tesla Mannequin 3 sedan was No. 2 in EV gross sales, with 151,599 registrations.
- The Ford Mustang Mach-E was third, with 25,695, and the Chevrolet Bolt was in fourth place, with 23,078, Experian stated.
- California was by far the main state for EV registrations, with 169,995 new registrations amongst all manufacturers, an 80 p.c improve over 2020.
- Texas, now dwelling to Tesla’s headquarters after they moved from California final yr, was far behind, with simply 28,818 registrations. Nonetheless, that was greater than double the state’s 2020 quantity.
