Tesla Model 3 Is Best-Selling EV In US This Year

Take another bow, Tesla Model 3. For the second year running, the Model 3 luxury all-electric four-door sedan is once again the best-selling electric vehicle (EV) in the U.S. -- and again by a huge margin

Tesla sold some 67,650 Model 3s in the U.S. from January to June, which is more than seven times the sales posted by the next best-selling EV, the Tesla's Model X SUV, said EV website InsideEVs.

In this latest ranking, Tesla took three of the top five spots among battery EVs sold during ther first-half of the year. The other top selling EVs were the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Nissan Leaf.

The top five: Tesla Model 3: 67,650 units; Tesla Model X: 9,000; Chevrolet Bolt EV: 8,281; Tesla Model S: 7,225 and Nissan Leaf: 6,008.

This news follows Tesla on Tuesday reporting new production and delivery records during the second quarter, including record deliveries of 95,200 Model S, 3 and X EVs.

Of the total EVs delivered by Tesla in Q2, 77,550 were Model 3 luxury executive sedans; 8,200 were Model S liftback sedans while 8,400 were Model X mid-size luxury SUVs. Tesla produced 72,531 Model 3 sedans and 14,571 Model S and Model X during the second quarter.

Total production for Q2 came to 87,048 EVs while total deliveries surged to 95,200 EVs. The previous delivery record was 90,700 EVs in the fourth quarter of 2018.

In late February, it was reported the Model 3 was the world’s best selling electric car in 2018.

More than 138,000 Model 3s were sold worldwide in 2018, said automotive intelligence firm JATO Dynamics Ltd. This total easily exceeded competing EVs such as the EC-Series, which is the flagship EV of state-owned Chinese automaker BAIC, and the Nissan Leaf. BAIC sold 92,000 of these EVs while Nissan sold 85,000 Leafs.

The Tesla Model S was fifth in JATO’s list with 48,000 sold in 2018. In total, Tesla ended 2018 with more than 230,000 electric cars sold. The year 2018 was the first time the Model 3 has earned the distinction of being the top selling EV.

Tesla’s competition during the first-half of this year was miles behind it in U.S. sales. The Jaguar I-Pace saw sales of only 1,073 EVs while the Audi e-tron SUVs saw sales of just 1,835 units.