January 18th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan on Clean Technica
Oh, poor Model S. With the Tesla Model 3 now on the scene in full force and consistently ranking in the top 5 of all US car sales, the older, bigger Model S doesn’t get nearly the attention and discussion it used to get.
Nonetheless, we’re still reporting on Tesla Model S sales compared to other large luxury cars, and the model’s still completely rocking it.
In fact, the Model S took 37% of the US market in 2018, nearly twice as much as the #2 Mercedes S-Class, based on CleanTechnica’s estimates (which basically means estimating US sales as a portion of official global sales*).
In the 4th quarter, the Model S took 36% of the market according to our estimates.
US Large Luxury Car Sales |
||
| Model | Q4 2018 | Q4 2018 Segment Share |
| Tesla Model S (est.) | 7,700 | 36% |
| Lexus LS | 2,630 | 12% |
| BMW 7 Series | 2,145 | 10% |
| Mercedes S-Class | 4,644 | 22% |
| Porsche Panamera | 1,673 | 8% |
| BMW 6 Series | 834 | 4% |
| Genesis G90 | 256 | 1% |
| Jaguar XJ (est.) | 292 | 1% |
| Audi A8 | 943 | 4% |
| TOTAL | 21,117 | 100% |
US Large Luxury Car Sales |
||
| Model | 2018 | 2018 Segment Share |
| Tesla Model S (est.) | 29,660 | 37% |
| Lexus LS | 9,301 | 12% |
| BMW 7 Series | 8,271 | 10% |
| Mercedes S-Class | 14,978 | 19% |
| Porsche Panamera | 8,114 | 10% |
| BMW 6 Series | 3,762 | 5% |
| Genesis G90 | 2,136 | 3% |
| Jaguar XJ (est.) | 1,579 | 2% |
| Audi A8 | 1,599 | 2% |
| TOTAL | 79,400 | 100% |
Jumping over to large luxury SUV sales, the Model X does not dominate the class in the same way. Our estimate is that it accounted for 19% of large luxury SUV sales in Q4 2018. Similarly, for the full year, it also accounted for 19% of large luxury SUV sales.
US Large Luxury SUV Sales |
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| Model | Q4 2018 | Q4 2018 Segment Share |
| Cadillac Escalade | 9,572 | 22% |
| Mercedes G/GLS-Class | 8,780 | 20% |
| Tesla Model X | 8,050 | 19% |
| Infiniti QX80 | 5,830 | 13% |
| Land Rover Range Rover | 5,467 | 13% |
| Lincoln Navigator | 4,754 | 11% |
| Lexus LX | 1,018 | 2% |
| Toyota Land Cruiser | 904 | 2% |
| TOTAL | 43,471 | 100% |
US Large Luxury SUV Sales |
||
| Model | 2018 | 2018 Segment Share |
| Cadillac Escalade | 36,032 | 24% |
| Tesla Model X | 28,290 | 19% |
| Mercedes G/GLS-Class | 25,566 | 17% |
| Infiniti QX80 | 19,207 | 13% |
| Land Rover Range Rover | 19,030 | 13% |
| Lincoln Navigator | 17,839 | 12% |
| Lexus LX | 4,753 | 3% |
| Toyota Land Cruiser | 3,235 | 2% |
| TOTAL | 150,717 | 100% |
One fear of the Model 3’s arrival (or hope, if you were a Tesla short or competitor) was that the Model 3 would eat up consumer demand for Tesla’s larger vehicles, especially the Model S. It appears that hasn’t been the case at all. In fact, with Tesla recently cutting the lower priced trim of the Model S and Model X, it appears demand is far greater than what Tesla can serve. (Otherwise, why would it raise prices so significantly?)
As it often turns out, one popular product from a company can lead more buyers to its other products. Word has been getting around about the Model 3, and that leads to more awareness and interest in its older siblings.
*CleanTechnica’s Tesla sales estimates are based on various statements from Elon Musk, official global figures from Tesla, and sales reports from other countries that are based on vehicle registrations.
