Let's Look At Tesla Sales Against Rivals: BMW & Mercedes

Oct 03, 2018 at 9:02am ET

By: Mark Kane

Tesla outsold BMW, Mercedes in passenger cars with ease.

Those automotive dinosaurs don't have it easy these days as the push to drive electric is taking over.

Let's check out how Tesla sales results in the U.S. compared to two German brands - BMW and Mercedes-Benz - that are typically seen as Tesla's closest competitors as brands (despite the fact that neither offers direct competitive BEV models to Tesla Model S, X or 3).

Third quarter results:

Passenger cars:

Tesla (Model S + Model 3) - 61,875
BMW - 45,452
Mercedes-Benz - 29,442

SUVs:

Mercedes-Benz (excludes commercial vans) - 37,100
BMW - 26,227
Tesla (Model X) - 8,050

All passenger cars and SUVs:

BMW - 71,679
Tesla (Model S, X & 3) - 69,925
Mercedes-Benz (excludes commercial vans) - 66,542

As you can see, Tesla's advantage in the passenger car segment is already huge and it could further increase with Model 3 sales expected to rise even more.

In the case of SUVs, Tesla's portfolio is currently too narrow with just the single Model X at very high-end. Everything could change when the Model Y is introduced. That could be a major hit to the BMW X3, the automaker's best-selling vehicle right now.

Anyways, in the Q4, Tesla will easily outsell both BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. - a good sign ahead of the Model 3 invasion of Europe.