Photo: Tesla Inc.
Tesla Model S has been consistently coming up on top in the luxury segment sales chart in the U.S., beating models with a long history behind them such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the BMW 7 Series.
That wasn't considered a cause for alarm. These flagship models were never meant as high volume sellers, but more like a projection of the absolute best of what the company has to offer in terms of both technology and comfort. And, sometimes, as is the case with the Mercedes-AMG S65, also performance.
While surely irritated, the European manufacturers didn't perceive Tesla as a direct threat. In fact, they argued that the comparison shouldn't even be made since the Model S doesn't fall into the same category as the vehicles mentioned above under any other aspect than price. And even then, the top Model S version - the P100D - is only as expensive as a mid-range S-Class, which can also be had as a Mercedes-Maybach or the V12-powered Mercedes-AMG S65.
But now that the Model S has beaten its German rivals on home turf (more on that later), the carmakers might want to start thinking more seriously about what it needs to be done. It's not like Tesla is stealing customers directly for them, but it is convincing people with over $100,000 to spend on a car to opt for their products.
The numbers for 2017 show the electric sedan has sold in 16,132 units all over Europe, according to JATO Dynamics (via Automotive News Europe). During the same year, Mercedes-Benz only delivered 13,359 S-Class limousines, with BMW falling even further back with its 7 Series flagship - 11,735 units.
"This is an alarm for the traditional automakers such as Mercedes. It says a smaller but smarter brand such as Tesla can beat them at home," said Felipe Munoz, an analyst with market researchers JATO Dynamics. Well, we said we'd come back to the "home turf" subject, so we are. Tesla is still far behind the German models in Germany, but that's partly because EVs haven't really caught up in Europe's most important market yet. That might be about to change as almost all local manufacturers have electric models planned over the next years. Comparing their sales with Tesla's figures in the future should provide a better gauging of the U.S. company's penetration into the German market.
While surely irritated, the European manufacturers didn't perceive Tesla as a direct threat. In fact, they argued that the comparison shouldn't even be made since the Model S doesn't fall into the same category as the vehicles mentioned above under any other aspect than price. And even then, the top Model S version - the P100D - is only as expensive as a mid-range S-Class, which can also be had as a Mercedes-Maybach or the V12-powered Mercedes-AMG S65.
But now that the Model S has beaten its German rivals on home turf (more on that later), the carmakers might want to start thinking more seriously about what it needs to be done. It's not like Tesla is stealing customers directly for them, but it is convincing people with over $100,000 to spend on a car to opt for their products.
The numbers for 2017 show the electric sedan has sold in 16,132 units all over Europe, according to JATO Dynamics (via Automotive News Europe). During the same year, Mercedes-Benz only delivered 13,359 S-Class limousines, with BMW falling even further back with its 7 Series flagship - 11,735 units.
"This is an alarm for the traditional automakers such as Mercedes. It says a smaller but smarter brand such as Tesla can beat them at home," said Felipe Munoz, an analyst with market researchers JATO Dynamics. Well, we said we'd come back to the "home turf" subject, so we are. Tesla is still far behind the German models in Germany, but that's partly because EVs haven't really caught up in Europe's most important market yet. That might be about to change as almost all local manufacturers have electric models planned over the next years. Comparing their sales with Tesla's figures in the future should provide a better gauging of the U.S. company's penetration into the German market.
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