Tesla Model 3 outperforms Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class in Germany!
Elon Musk has been challenging other automakers to build compelling electric cars for years, and many are finally taking the gauntlet. The auto industry is currently in chaos due to a critical shortage of computer chips, but still it must be a shock to Audi, BMW, and Mercedes – the proud triumvirate of German premium automakers – to learn that the Tesla Model 3 all have their midsize offerings surpassed with combustion engine combined in Germany it is September.
September will be interesting
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 17.09.2021
As a group, the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C / CLA-Class sold 6,100 times in September, according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority in Germany. Wirtschaftswoche cracked sales and found that the Model 3 totaled 6,800 units in the same month. Oh my goodness!
The images show the Model 3 neck to head with the popular Volkswagen Golf. Even after aggregating the sales of A4, S4, RS4, A5, S5 and RS5, Audi could only claim 900 sales. BMW sold 3,000 3-series cars in September and Mercedes added 2,200 C / CLA-class sales in the month.
And that before the new Tesla factory in Grünheide goes into operation. No wonder that Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, told his top managers last week that the company would have to dismantle its old factories and replace them with new, more efficient production facilities if it wants to remain competitive with Tesla in the future.
Note, however, that Tesla shipments come in waves, with the 3rd quarter of each month dominating the shipments and registration numbers. The Model 3 may still not rank number 1 in annual EV sales in the country. On the other hand, if you look at how tight it was at the end of August, it could be Germany’s # 1 best-selling electric vehicle in the first three quarters of 2021.
Just a little more than 3,000 units behind the Volkswagen e-Up in the first 8 months of the year, the Tesla Model 3 should have overtaken this and the Volkswagen ID.3 in September.
True Volkswagen supporters, however, will point out that the Volkswagen Group sells a lot more electric models and, as an automotive company, is the leader in selling plug-in vehicles (or even pure BEV sales).
Tesla is somewhere after # 5.
Overall, however, it is a move away from fossil fuel vehicles. “In September 2020, BMW, Audi and Mercedes were able to sell more than 11,000 vehicles from their internal combustion engines in the Model 3 segment, almost twice as many as in September 2021.” Wirtschaftswoche Conditions. The German news agency notes that the EV revolution is gaining momentum in Germany. In September, 41 percent fewer gasoline-powered vehicles were sold in Germany than in the same period of the previous year. Diesel vehicle sales have plummeted by as much as 54 percent year-on-year, reflecting the experience in Norway, where diesel vehicle sales have all but disappeared. In contrast, sales of hybrids rose by 11 percent, plug-in hybrids by 14 percent and sales of all-electric cars rose dramatically 59 percent.
The numbers don’t lie. Electric car sales are increasing in Germany as the transition to electric vehicles accelerates. If Germany’s Big Three can’t reverse the sale of their hellish internal combustion engine cars, their future is in grave danger. Of the three, Volkswagen and Mercedes seem to be aggressively pushing for electric cars (in that order), but BMW seems for the most part resting on its laurels, wishing the EV revolution never happened. Of the three, the renowned Bavarian company appears to be the most threatened with extinction.
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