Tesla’s mid-size sedan Model 3 has already been the most in one month across all drive types best selling car in Europe. The US electric car manufacturer is hoping for at least as much, if not greater, success from the new mid-size SUV Model Y. The vehicle is already a bestseller in the premium segment.
That Tesla Model Y was the best-selling mid-range premium SUV in Europe in the first half of the year, according to market analyst Dataforce. The electric car from California thus beat German competitors, including the former market leader in the Mercedes-Benz GLC segment. Sales of the Model Y have grown so much that it might overtake the compact Audi A3 and become the best-selling premium model in Europe. “The Tesla Model Y has been very successful in the European market and will continue to grow,” said Dataforce analyst Benjamin Kibies Automotive News.
The Model Y was launched in the USA in 2020 from domestic production. It was then launched in China in early 2021, where it will also roll off the assembly line at Tesla’s local factory in Shanghai. The vehicle then came onto the market in Germany in the late summer of last year. Since March 2022, it has also been manufactured here in the brand’s new electric car factory in Brandenburg near Berlin.
According to Dataforce, the Model Y was sold 41,851 times in Europe in the first six months of this year, beating the GLC (40,554), which is also available as a plug-in hybrid. Third was the BMW X3 with 31,138 sales and fourth was the Volvo XC60 with 27,836. The BMW is available as a pure and part-time Stromer, the Volvo as a plug-in hybrid. It was followed by the Audi Q5 (15,552, plug-in hybrid available), Audi Q5 Sportback (13,052, plug-in hybrid available), Audi Q4 e-tron (11,182, pure electric car), Porsche Macan (9798, only combustion engine), DS 7 Crossback (9731, plug-in hybrid available) and Audi e-tron (9470, electric car). Figures from Finland and Portugal were not yet available for the evaluation.
E-cars on the rise
The success of the Model Y meant that diesel was no longer the dominant fuel type in the premium segment. In the first half of the year, the diesel was neck and neck with the electric drive and had a 32 percent share of the segment. The Model Y accounted for nearly half of all EV sales in the segment, while Audi’s combined EV volume accounted for a third.
To become the best-selling premium car in Europe in 2022, the Tesla Model Y must beat the Audi A3, which led the compact premium segment with 51,994 sales in the first half of the year, as well as the BMW X1, the Mercedes A-Class, the BMW 3 Series and the MINI hatchback . With the exception of the latter, the other four models saw sales decline in the first half of the year.
The success of the Model Y comes at the expense of the Model 3, whose sales fell 39 percent to 38,455 units in the first half of the year, according to Dataforce figures. The sedan fell behind the BMW 3 Series in the premium segment of the middle class. However, European deliveries of both the Model 3 and Model Y were impacted by a temporary COVID-related shutdown of the Shanghai plant earlier in the second quarter.
Tesla boss Elon Musk said some time ago that he might imagine selling 500,000 vehicles per year for the Model Y. Overall, his goals are now extremely ambitious: He can imaginethat Tesla will produce 20 million vehicles per year by 2030. Additional models are being planned, including more compact series for China and Europe.
