According to new-vehicle registration data from Experian, Tesla remained fourth in luxury brand US registrations for the first quarter of 2021, and is closing in on the top three: BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz.
In Q1, the EV automaker registered 71,345 vehicles, which is an increase of 52 percent from Q1 of last year. BMW remained in the lead with 84,397 registrations, Lexus was behind with 80,166, and Mercedes-Benz third with 77,826 registrations. Audi was passed by Tesla in 2020 and remains fifth.
| Brand | Q1 2021 Registrations | % Change |
| BMW | 84,397 | 29% |
| Lexus | 80,166 | 32% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 77,826 | 24% |
| Tesla | 71,345 | 52% |
| Audi | 59,315 | 31% |
| Cadillac | 41,114 | 39% |
| Acura | 39,364 | 34% |
| Volvo | 28,851 | 38% |
| Lincoln | 28,058 | 12% |
| Land Rover | 25,214 | 33% |
| Infiniti | 20,493 | -18% |
| Genesis | 8,196 | 111% |
| Alfa Romeo | 5,232 | 42% |
| Jaguar | 4,123 | -31% |
| Total | 573,694 | 29% |
"Nationally, there were 99,030 EV registrations in the first quarter, Experian data shows, up 66 percent over the same period of 2020. Registrations are often lower than total sales, and it takes some time for a vehicle sold to a retail customer to show up in registration data."
Tesla accounted for a whopping 72 percent of the country’s EV registrations. The Model Y by itself had 40,772 registrations, 41 percent of all EV registrations. The Model 3 did well too:
"The No. 2 vehicle — Tesla's Model 3 sedan — had 27,362 registrations and came within 323 of besting the combined EV registrations of every other non-Tesla brand."
The Chevrolet Bolt EV had the most non-Tesla registrations with 9,069.
Comparing Q1 of 2020 to 2021 is interesting because of the factory and dealership shutdowns and low sales due to the pandemic. New car sales this year will likely be different from previous years due to the ongoing part supplier delays affecting most automakers.
Several upcoming luxury EVs will be entering production this year and will take some market share from Tesla. One of Tesla’s biggest threats is the Mercedes-Benz EQS which is slated to hit the market later his year.
EV Sales
The Lucid Air will be another rival entering production this year. Audi’s E-Tron GT, a slightly more affordable cousin to the Porsche Taycan, is already in production. The BMW i4 electric sedan and iX electric SUV are two more premium EVs joining the market by the end of the year.
Source: Automotive News
