The Tesla Model S has been dominating the luxury segment in the United States for quite some time now outselling its European rivals. However, for the first time, the electric carmaker has managed to surpass the sales figures of the top flagship gas-powered German premium cars in their home turf. Let me assure you something, it’s not only a big deal for the California-based company but is also guaranteed to make the German marques extremely worried. According to fresh data released by market researchers JATO Dynamics and reported by Auto News Europe, the sales of Tesla Model S in Europe jumped 30 percent to 16,132 units in 2017. In comparison, Mercedes S class sales grew by only 3 percent to 13,359, while the BMW 7 series had dismal sales of 11,735, down 13 percent.
It’s not just the Model S that did well in Europe, the sales figures for Tesla Model X in the continent has also left many surprised by doing extremely well in the very first full year of sales. According to JATO, Model X sales in Europe last year were 12,000 units, which is about the same as its gas-powered competitor the Porsche Cayenne and about 2,000 more than the BMW X6. “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. This latest development points towards a cultural shift among customers with cleaner and greener cars becoming more desirable. This will only put more pressure on the European automakers to speed up their development of electric vehicles.
[Via:Jalopnik]
