The Most Popular Electric Car In Europe

Tesla sold 17,490 Model 3 cars in the European Union last month, making it the most sold plug-in EV on the continent, according to data compiled by Clean Technica. The other two Tesla models, X and S, sold a lot less, confirming the Model 3 as the flagship car it was conceived as: the affordable luxury EV that would turn Tesla into a mainstream carmaker.

At the same time, however, sales in its home market fell by 39 percent during the third quarter of the year, affecting revenues, since home sales provide the biggest chunk of that. At $3.13 billion, Tesla’s U.S. sales were down from $5.13 billion a year earlier, not least because of the start of rollback of federal subsidies for electric vehicles. The rollback kicks in as soon as a carmaker reaches a certain number of cars sold.

Sales abroad, however, rose across the board, not just in Europe. Chinese sales jumped 69 percent during the third quarter to $1.83 billion from $669 million a year earlier.

Tesla also recently announced it had begun selling Chinese-made Model 3s, at a price of a little over $50,300. The news added fuel to a share price rally that began after the release of the company’s third-quarter financial results, which revealed a profit that no one apparently expected and that cost Tesla short sellers more than $1 billion in losses, which Elon Musk should get a kick out of.

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Tesla now aims to achieve an annualized production rate of half a million cars before this year’s end. In the meantime, it reported that during the third quarter it shipped 97,000 cars and produced 96,000. If it hits its target, it will bring it a step closer to its ultimate goal of joining the mainstream.

While this is still to happen, EVs are certainly conquering Europe. Total EV and hybrid sales during September soared 76 percent on the year to 59,000. Plug-in EVs alone fared even better: their September sales were 109 percent higher than those in September 2018, and they made up for the majority of the total, at 41,001.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com:

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