Tesla easily defeated BMW to take the luxury sales crown in the US for the first time in 2022, also making it the first time a US automaker has held that title in nearly 25 years. Last year wasn’t just a flash in the pan however as Tesla is continuing to dominate the luxury segment in the US in January.
According to the latest data from Experian, Tesla recorded 49,917 new registrations across the US in January. That is 60% higher than BMW which saw 31,070 new registrations in the same time period. (via Automotive News)
Tesla’s strong showing was even more than the third and fourth placed automakers, combined. Experian data showed Mercedes in third place with 23,345 registrations with Lexus close behind at 23,082 registrations in January.
Not only is Tesla dominating luxury sales, they are also the only automaker seeing a significant increase in their sales. Tesla’s January 2023 sales were 34% higher than the same month last year, compared to BMW which saw just a 2.5% increase. Mercedes rose 7.3% while Lexus was up 6.6% compared to January 2022.
There are likely two main reasons for Tesla’s early success in 2023 luxury sales. The first is the large price cut Tesla implemented in early January which saw the price of the Model Y drop $13,000. As a result registrations of the electric SUV surged 56% compared to last year to 28,833 units. Model 3 registrations increased 29% in January to 17,526.
If that wasn’t enough to stoke demand there is also the $7,500 tax credit from the new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Only some variants of the Model Y qualified for the tax credit, but the rules were later updated, and with the price drops all variants of the Model Y qualified.
Looking at it from an EV market share perspective, Tesla held a 57% share in January, while BMW and Mercedes barely registered as a blip on the chart with just 2.9% and 2.4% respectively. Lexus hasn’t yet launched an EV to be included in those stats.
