Tesla has sold more Model 3 electric sedans than all other electric vehicles combined in 2019, repeating its meteoric success from its first full year of sales in 2018.
New data from the US government Alternative Fuel Data Centre shows that in 2019, the Model 3 accounted for more than 60% of the full battery electric car market, and almost 50% of the market including plug-in hybrid models.
This was an even better result than the previous year, when the Tesla Model 3 accounted for nearly 40% of the plug-in electric market and just over half of the full battery electric market.
Not bad for a vehicle that only two years prior was a big dream from a Californian startup that had never made a mass-volume production vehicle before.
Of course, that “startup” is now one of the world’s most valuable auto manufacturers, having shrugged off production woes of 2018 to expand its best-selling Model 3 into overseas markets, including almost single-handedly tripling a very tardy Australian EV market.
While some 5,000 Model 3s were sold in Australia in 2019, a total of 154,840 Model 3s were sold in the US in 2019, compared with the market total of 242,397.
The next most popular electric vehicle was also a Tesla – the premium electric Model X SUV.
But compared to the Tesla Model 3, the Model X hardly made a scratch on the EV market. Just shy of 20,000 Model Xs were sold in the US in 2019, albeit 33% more than its premium stablemate sedan, the Model S of which some 15,000 were sold placing it at number 4.
General Motors managed to get a look in at number 3 with its longstanding Chevy Bolt (about 16,000 were sold) and Nissan came in at number 5 with its Leaf (around 12,000 of which were sold).
But none came even close to the Model 3, underlining yet again the incredible impact this one car alone has had on the US auto market and which is also being echoed in overseas markets.
The popularity of the Model 3 has of course been an underlying theme for those keeping an eye on Tesla’s value as a company, as its stocks have skyrocketed since late 2019 and done little to dampen despite global markets wavering in the face of US/China trade wars and coronavirus.
Tesla is only weeks away from the release of its next electric car, the Model Y – which is touted to be even more popular than its predecessor, in part thanks to its crossover style body.
While here in Australia electric vehicle fans are keenly awaiting the chance to place their own orders for this next exciting vehicle from Tesla, it is unknown just how many reservations have already been placed for the Model Y in the US.
Will it be as successful as the Model 3? Only time will tell.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
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